Smart Ass

Sports car, Italian villa, inappropriate love interest? Not for author Margaret Winslow, an overworked college professor in New York City. She meets midlife agita not head-on, but ass-on, fulfilling a childhood curiosity about donkeys by answering a for-sale ad for a “Large White Saddle Donkey” in the American Donkey and Mule Society’s magazine, The Brayer. Hilarity ensues, alongside life-threatening injuries and spirit-enriching insight.

As readers walk with her and Caleb the donkey through training traumas, expert-baffling antics, and humiliating races, they also share in the author’s gradual understanding of Caleb’s true, undeniable gifts: a willingness to “speak truth to power,” to trust, and to forgive. Winslow incorporates these lessons into her life, and as she and Caleb learn to thrive, readers not only cheer them on but also learn a thing or three about being true to their own pure and powerful selves.

"This unusual, engaging story of a woman and her donkey will undoubtedly win many hearts."
— Publishers Weekly

“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

“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

“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.”
— Trish Broersma, author of Riding into Your Mythic Life

Read more accolades for Smart Ass on the Media page.