Sherman is delivered to McDougall's farm from an animal hoarder, arriving with rotted teeth, infected skin, and hooves curved into grotesque shapes.

Scott arrives and recommends putting Sherman down, but McDougall insists they continue and use a hacksaw to reshape the donkey's hooves.

Tanya cleans Sherman and warns McDougall that the abused donkey may be sick with despair and will need a purpose to psychologically survive.

McDougall reveals to Tanya his plan for Sherman: training for and running the World Championship burro race in Fairplay, Colorado.

Sherman freezes during his first training run, refusing to move past a small puddle on the side of the road.

McDougall uses Temple Grandin's perspective-taking approach to help Sherman past the puddle, and Sherman runs for the first time.

McDougall uses his goat Chili Dog to lure Sherman across a creek and names his new training philosophy Donkey Tao.

Tanya brings her large riding donkey Flower to join Sherman's training, recognizing he needs animal companions to run successfully.

Tanya's husband leaves her, and new financial obligations force her to step back from helping train Sherman.

Zeke Cook, a young man recovering at home after a suicide attempt, joins the team and bonds with Sherman on their first run.

Tanya suffers a serious injury that prevents her from being able to transport the donkeys to the World Championship.

McDougall breaks his thumb playing basketball, and weeks later Zeke breaks his foot, leaving the team shorthanded as the race approaches.

During the journey to Colorado, Karin corrects McDougall's interpretation of Sherman's trailer behavior, explaining the donkey is scared, not stubborn.

When Sherman refuses to leave a watering station mid-race, McDougall uses Karin's insight to see the situation from the donkey's perspective.

The team finishes the World Championship in 28th, 29th, and 30th place out of fifty-two starters, and Sherman returns home rehabilitated.

Sherman arrives at McDougall's Pennsylvania farm in a devastated state after years of neglect, and a donkey expert warns that giving him a purpose is essential to his psychological survival. McDougall decides that purpose will be training for the World Championship burro race in Fairplay, Colorado, despite the seemingly impossible challenge ahead. After painful early failures, McDougall begins learning to see the world from Sherman's perspective, finding strategies that allow the two to make real progress together. A series of setbacks — including Tanya's personal crisis, her later injury, McDougall's broken thumb, and Zeke's broken foot — threaten to derail the effort but cannot stop the team's momentum. A crucial revelation during the journey to Colorado helps McDougall finally understand Sherman's behavior through compassion rather than frustration. The team completes the World Championship race respectably, and Sherman is returned home as a rehabilitated, loved, and purposeful animal.

Sherman's journey from neglected donkey to burro race finisher.

Lawrence the goat lies down beside Sherman through the night, warming and comforting the shocked donkey on his first night at the farm.

The morning after Sherman's arrival, Lawrence encourages the immobile donkey to begin moving around their shared enclosure.

McDougall and Mika attempt to get Sherman to walk on the asphalt road but fail, and McDougall must suppress the urge to force him.

McDougall hosts a Full Moon Run at his farm, and Sherman runs comfortably alongside a large group of Amish and Mennonite runners.

Tanya arrives the following day with Matilda, a spunky miniature donkey whose fearlessness helps lead Sherman and Flower past their training obstacles.

Flower is left in the pen while Sherman and Matilda go for a run, and her frantic braying causes both donkeys to bolt back to the farm.

With Tanya absent and winter setting in, McDougall and Mika struggle to manage the farm alone and Sherman's training gradually stalls.

McDougall learns Zeke returned home mid-semester after a suicide attempt following his decision to stop taking antidepressant medication at university.

Zeke consistently pushes McDougall and Mika outside in poor weather for training runs, deepening his physical and emotional bond with Sherman.

The team's river crossing attempt fails, and Hal Walter confirms that the race's creek crossings will be far more demanding than expected.

Eric Orton designs an intensive training regimen for the team, including grueling 30-second sprint intervals that reawaken McDougall's running form.

After thumb surgery forces McDougall to change his technique, he develops a shorter-rope method for running alongside Flower.

Karin and Linda arrive to transport the three donkeys to Colorado and handle the large animals and heavy equipment with surprising ease.

Tammy Pedretti, whose family honors their late burro-racing relative Rob, steps in as Zeke's replacement runner and works well with Sherman.

Sherman's former owner returns to McDougall's farm after the race, and McDougall realizes the man has come simply to say goodbye.

From the very first night, unexpected allies appear to help Sherman recover, beginning with a rambunctious goat named Lawrence who provides the neglected donkey his first warmth and comfort. As training progresses, the team faces a cascade of obstacles — Flower's accidental exclusion causing chaos, winter stalling momentum, and Zeke's troubled backstory adding emotional weight to the group's mission. Zeke's tenacious enthusiasm ultimately drives the team forward through difficult runs and a failed river crossing, while expert coach Eric Orton's intensive regimen pushes everyone to a new physical level. Further disruptions test McDougall's resolve as injuries force him to adapt his techniques, and a transportation crisis compels him to accept help from strangers, including the formidable Karin and Linda and the last-minute addition of Tammy Pedretti. Together, this ragged community of supporters carries Sherman to the starting line and through the race itself. The memoir closes with a moment of quiet closure when Sherman's original owner returns simply to say goodbye.

The people and setbacks behind Sherman's rehabilitation.

McDougall's Mennonite neighbor asks for help rescuing a donkey from a neglectful animal hoarder within the congregation.

Despite his distressed state, Sherman's ears track McDougall's and Scott's voices attentively, revealing the donkey is still alert and responsive.

McDougall's first attempt at burro racing in Leadville ends in humiliating failure when his donkey refuses to cooperate mid-race.

Sherman drifts toward the far edge of the road to cut McDougall off, and Tanya sharply instructs McDougall he must become a stronger leader.

Sherman completes a full training mile for the first time, and Tanya suggests the donkey likely has much more potential to reveal.

McDougall notices a spark of play in Sherman's behavior while the donkey nips at a farm cat, recognizing play as a key motivator.

Amos King founds the Vella Shpringa running club with Mennonite friends, building an unlikely cross-community group around a shared love of running.

Zeke's mother watches her son running with Sherman and quietly realizes he has found another creature that, like himself, needed healing.

During a training run through a dense trail called the maze, McDougall realizes he must step up and become a more disciplined team leader.

After the successful maze run, McDougall officially declares Zeke a full member of the racing team for the World Championship.

Zeke visits Sherman in the pasture even on rest days, and McDougall observes the two growing stronger and more trusting together.

Running closely with Flower using a shortened rope, McDougall experiences a profound sense of equality with the donkey and fully embraces the Donkey Tao.

Kip Otteson, owner of the Earthship where the team stays before the race, shares the mantra 'fear that thing, do that thing.'

Sherman arrives at the chaotic race starting line and, rather than panicking, is visibly delighted to be surrounded by hundreds of donkeys.

After returning from the race, Sherman, Flower, and Matilda frolic joyfully together in the farm pasture, united as a herd.

Long before Sherman's rehabilitation begins, the seeds of the story are planted when McDougall is asked to rescue a donkey from a neglectful hoarder, setting the entire narrative in motion. McDougall's early failures — including a humiliating first attempt at burro racing — establish just how much he must learn before he can truly lead Sherman forward. Key turning points accumulate through training: Sherman's first full mile, the discovery of play as a motivator, and the formation of both the Vella Shpringa running club and the racing team reveal the power of community in fueling recovery. Zeke's mother's quiet realization about her son's bond with Sherman, and McDougall's own epiphany during the maze run, mark emotional shifts that deepen the team's sense of shared purpose. A transformative moment of communion with Flower gives McDougall a final philosophical breakthrough, achieving the full ego-release his Donkey Tao philosophy demands. At the race, Sherman's joyful reaction to the starting line and the donkeys' happy reunion in the home pasture confirm that both human and animal have been genuinely healed.