Walking with Henry: Big Lessons from a Little Donkey on Faith, Friendship, and Finding Your Path
By: Rachel Anne Ridge / Narrated By: Xe Sands
Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
The life of a little donkey, and lots and lots of Scripture
Okay, first I’d like to say that I kinda sorta started kicking myself early on during the audiobook when I realized that it’s a >gasp< sequel; and also that it’s a >double gasp< sequel to an audiobook that I already have but haven’t gotten around to listening to. That book would be called Flash, about the donkey that Henry was supposed to become wingman to, and even tho’ I’ve seen it in my Library for ages, it didn’t quite grab my attention enough to choose for one of the weekly Animals Picks, even tho’ it’s gotten good reviews and such all. So I dunno why I was attracted to Walking with Henry sooo strongly this week when I’ve not yet read Rachel Anne Ridge’s first offering. And might I add that I really, really try to NEVER read/listen to a sequel without getting the prior (audio)books in first.
So I cringed mightily when I realized I’d missed a step and that I was forging bravely on anyway, having but little a clue as to who the characters were and what there backgrounds might be. But ya know what? I wasn’t lost, and I don’t feel like I lost out on too terribly many stories that I won’t be able to appreciate when I listen to the first later on soon. Cuz this is a really nice book, and I came to know the characters involved quite well.
Henderson No. 10, later known as Henry for short, is a mini-donkey who was found homeless and stray and amongst a passel of other wilder donkeys. Author Rachel Ridge had been thiiiinking of getting a friend for Flash, their older and regular sized donkey, but when she receives the call about Henderson No. 10, and when she actually sees the little guy, Ridge is completely smitten. Henry moves in and there you go! All mistakes are righted; there’s healing galore; happy endings without problems!
Uhm, not quite. It turns out that Henry comes with a lot of baggage, and it’s all Ridge and Flash can do to get him to a) Not bite; b) Settle down and trust that there will HONESTLY be food around for him to eat; and c) Maybe walk facing forwards rather than gingerly walking backwards as tho’ he’s desperately trying to protect his front and head from perils of the big wide world.
Along the way, Ridge adopts a walking prayer practice where, as she walks beside the backwards little donkey, she contemplates her faith, her religion, and the Bible. Each chapter opens with a prayer from the Bible, and each chapter is based upon the theme of that prayer. Generally, I must admit that I have a knee-jerk response to works that are Bible-reliant, but I really liked what Ridge brought to the table when she discusses prayers here and her thoughts on the Bible’s words. One reviewer it must be noted, however, was mightily alarmed that Ridge took tooo many liberties when contemplating the meaning of The Word of God, gently turning them this way then that until they fit her peaceful and love-first reality. And yes, she does adapt things to where she can understand them and really take them in, becoming the Word in how she lives her life (Personally, I was happy to see that she seemed to have an open mind about God using Evolution to create the world), so if you’re a stickler and believe the Bible to be all black-and-white, yup: You might find this book to be a tad offensive.
Like I said, I was happy with the way Scripture was handled and was oh so very charmed by the many, many stories from the Bible that featured good and loyal donkeys. Ridge takes stories like “The Good Samaritan” and shows how the fine donkey capably takes the burden of the wounded man up and onto her body, travels with the Samaritan to find assistance and help for him. And then, of course! there’s the donkey that Jesus rode to Jerusalem on. She ponders that there had to be two donkeys on that trip as there’s no way a young donkey colt would’ve managed the distance, would’ve managed the shouting and jostling of the enormous crowds were his mom not near him. Sweet, I tell you, and evidently the author pondered the donkey-in-the-Bible question seriously and in-depth.
Be prepared for stories of Henry and Flash, of Flash and past suffering, of prayer and faith and their meaning in the life of one woman, of wisdom gained through loss, of wisdom gained through acceptance of God’s gifts. Really, a fine book, and of COURSE Xe Sands narrates it marvelously. Sands can’t perform any book withOUT warmth and tenderness in her voice, withOUT that scratchiness that always brings me to tears when she relays anything even remotely sad (And trust me, there is sadness to be had in this book!).
So what it comes down to is this: Wonderful book, so very well-narrated. I mean, so good that I’m looking at Flash. The only thing is that Xe Sands doesn’t narrate that book, and I’m kinda wondering how on earth Nan McNamara will be able to do the honors.
Still, my soul has been soothed by this thought-filled piece of writing, and I think we can all agree that one should take all the soul-soothing one can get.
Now, can I get some of that from Flash? I’ll let you know, and I promise to listen to it soon to get back to ya!
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