Mark Twain supposedly said to his brother, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." Twain's statement holds a valid truth. Writing short is much more challenging than writing long, but the eighteen writers in this anthology share profound life experiences in fewer than 300 words. One took us on memorable motorcycle rides; another shared a history of her favorite nonmotorized bikes. Others told us about beloved pets and encounters with undomesticated animals. On these pages, read about divine intervention, a lifelong love affair with William Shakespeare's work, life on the home front during World War II, and many other micro-memoirs that make you laugh, cry, or look at something just a bit differently. Enjoy these stories as they lead you into both the familiar and the foreign.