This photo of Simon was taken by our farrier, Ken Norman, the day after Simon was removed from his farm by the police and animal control. He was walking on his ankles, his hooves had not been trimmed in a very long time. It reminds me to be careful when I use the term “abuse,” it is not an argument or an opinion but a very specific crime, and it results in grievous harm or death to the animals who suffer from it. This is one of the points I hope my book will make.

—

I admit to feeling small last week when it became clear to me that my new book “Saving Simon,” had been orphaned by my publisher because I was leaving to write for another publishing company. I am feeling bigger this week after seeing some of the generous reviews of the book, the latest coming this afternoon and posted on USA Today’s website. The review will also run in the paper’s print edition and most of the newspapers in the Gannett chain.

It is a wonderful review and I am especially happy to get it this week. I have decided that Simon’s story needs to be heard and my book deserves a fair shot in the marketplace, I am going to do some braying for it, a review like this in USA Today is a great help. Simon is a big hit, he is drawing some first rate media attention. It follows another wonderful starred review in the Library Journal and in Kirkus Reviews.

“If you think donkeys are dumb,  stubborn beasts of burden whose sole purpose in life is to carry mankind’s load, you’ll think again after reading Saving Simon, Jon Katz’s heart-warming, provocative animal-bonding book,” said the review. I like “heart-warming” and “provocative”, two things a book ought to be.

The review focused one of the central themes of the book: compassion and the different ways in which we experience it. Why, I ask, do we offer so much compassion to animals but so little to people? It seems that we can only be compassionate for the people we like, not for the people who often need it the most;  the people we don’t like. Simon taught me a lot about the meaning of compassion.

—

If you wish to order the book through Battenkill Books, (518 677-2515) I will sign and personalize it (I reserve the write to edit the inscriptions). You can also order the book through Battenkill’s website.