Media & Press
Praise for Smart Ass
In this winning tale, Winslow (Over My Head), a City College of New York professor emerita of earth sciences, recounts facing her midlife crisis by purchasing, rather than the typical sports car or boat, a donkey—and not the docile companion she expected. When she arrives at an upstate New York farm to meet Caleb, the initially placid animal soon tries to show Winslow who the real boss is in their relationship. Trainers attempt to persuade Winslow to take a firmer hand, but it takes a terrifying physical interaction with Caleb to underscore the importance of doing so. Seriously contemplating selling him, Winslow instead sends Caleb to a “boot camp” training program. While he’s there, Winslow realizes, during an intensely uncomfortable faculty meeting, that she’s acting the way Caleb does when scared —“I had feinted and dodged to cover my fears”—and gathers the courage to speak up against shortsighted college administrators. In an amusing coda, although Caleb goes on to become a prize-winning show animal at county fairs, the stubborn animal continues to make clear that, while he may be trained, he’s far from broken. This unusual, engaging story of a woman and her donkey will undoubtedly win many hearts.
— Publishers Weekly
“I love Margaret Winslow’s book and all it teaches us about the true nature of life, from the power of love to the reality of animal communication. More than anything, Smart Ass teaches us about reverence for life.”
— Dr. Bernie S. Siegel, author of Love, Animals & Miracles and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul
“Laugh and cry as Margaret Winslow parks her ego to accept the honest reflection a donkey provides — endearing comedy and blatant humiliation.”
— Karlene Stange, DVM, author of The Spiritual Nature of Animals
“Donkeys are amazing animal beings — smart, sentient, and present. Twice my life was changed by an up-close-and-personal meeting with a donkey who seemed to know precisely what I was thinking and feeling. So I fully understand Margaret Winslow’s being rescued by Caleb’s charm, presence, and sense of humor, along with his ability to trust and to forgive. I hope Smart Ass enjoys a broad global audience because there are so many life lessons to be learned from the nonhuman animals who bless our lives if we allow them in.”
— Marc Bekoff, PhD, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
“No creatures are more misunderstood than donkeys. They challenge us to look inside ourselves for the answers to their problems, and in doing so they help us grow as humans. Every donkey will take you on a journey of self-discovery if you let them, and Caleb is no different. He has a message for you about the way we treat and respect animals, each other, and ourselves. Heartbreaking, funny, encouraging, and enlightening, Smart Ass is a beautifully written story that questions our own stubbornness as a species and asks us to learn how to trust ourselves.”
— Ben Hart, animal behaviorist and trainer at Hart’s Horsemanship and the Donkey Sanctuary
“Smart Ass inspires us with a delightful odd-couple relationship between a white donkey and a middle-aged college professor, a grand story of humorous, wise insights into the challenges and rewards of following one’s unlikely hopes and dreams. Margaret Winslow’s story of Caleb the donkey unfolds as a mythic tale — wild, tender, and at times dangerous — of a woman who faces midlife issues by purchasing a stubborn, willful, and affectionate long-eared member of the equine family. Readers travel the rocky trail of their mutual life journeys, hammering out hard-won accomplishments of cross-species communication and finally arriving at a new and better way of living through loyalty to one’s true self.”
— Trish Broersma, author of Riding into Your Mythic Life
“Adoption — be it of a cat, a child, or in Margaret Winslow’s case, a donkey — demands time, trust, and the flexibility to alter one’s expectations. This tender story of a frustrated academic and an indomitable beast delivers the drama of this struggle and, ultimately, the gift of love.”
— Tina Traster, author of Rescuing Julia Twice and director/producer of the documentary Catnip Nation
“Smart Ass is a remarkable, finely written memoir with both an engaging story and a surprising lesson. As author Margaret Winslow pursues her dream and learns to listen to her seven-hundred-pound donkey, she learns to listen to her true self. The chapters flow forward with skillfully crafted scenes, leading the reader to root for both Margie and Caleb — and finally to share in their lifelong lesson of trust and forgiveness.”
— Susan M. Tiberghien, author of One Year to a Writing Life
Praise for The Cusp of Dreadfulness
“Travel memoirs to exotic regions infrequently feature women as protagonists, rarely combine laugh-out-loud misadventures with insights about the pioneering efforts of women to enter the almost exclusively male branches of field sciences.”
— Palisades Free Library Newsletter
“The Cusp of Dreadfulness is like Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, but set in a dictatorship located at the tip of South America during the turbulent 1970’s through 1990’s.”
— Publisher’s press release
Praise for Over My Head
“…a pioneering female geologist explores the topography of South America and the shifting landscape of women in the sciences…. A satisfying journey through 1970’s sexual politics and the lands of the southernmost part of the Earth.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Dr. Margaret Winslow's book is truly remarkable. Her adventures in the southern areas in and around South America and Antarctica are incredible to read about. If you enjoy books about real adventures by real people this is absolutely the book for you. Dr. Winslow must be one of the bravest people -- she undertakes hair-raising adventures in the name of science (geology), discovery and exploration -- and survives to tell the tale. Her book is humorous, entertaining and breath-taking all at the same time.”
— Brad Borkan, author with David Hirzel of When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic
For press inquiries and personal appearances please contact:
Monique Muhlenkamp
Publicity Director
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way
Novato, CA 94949
monique@newworldlibrary.com
+1-415-884-2100