Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion

New York Times bestselling author Katz (The Second Chance Dog) takes on a shockingly malnourished and mistreated equine in this uplifting and insightful memoir. Neglected and left all but dead by a farmer who fell on hard times, Simon the donkey had a resilient spirit that was almost immediately apparent to animal patrol officers when they rescued rescued him and then called upon Katz, who owns a farm in upstate New York, to adopt this wounded soul. Much to his surprise, Katz recognized his own battered spirit in Simon and quickly develops an affinity for the annimal: "I %E2%80%A6 connected to [his] experience of aloneness and confusion, of fear and discomfort. I had spent a lot of my life that way." Recounting the quiet hours spent tending to the donkey's damaged charge, Katz contemplates the meaning of compassion and why he chooses to bestow it upon other animals, humans, and even the farmer who had abandoned Simon to his unfathomably cruel fate. Katz's account of this emotionally wrought journey is rooted in self-awareness; by caring for Simon, Katz comes to terms with other relationships in his life including a falling out with his now deceased mother. Katz's fans and animal lovers of all kinds will no doubt be delighted by Simon's heartwarming story. 4 b&w photos. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment. (Oct.)