A collection of six-word memoirs by bestselling and little-known writers, submitted to the online "SMITH Magazine."

People who have read my books, particularly "the art of war" and its cousins, have a vague idea of the odyssey of a particular solitary guy, wracked by guilty and riven by self doubt, as he struggles toward his destiny as a writer. But they have only the scantiest conception of the particulars of that journey. These particulars, I'm hoping may be of use to others as they wrestle with their own version of that same odyssey. So let me try to strip it...

"When Martha Summerhayes (1844-1926) came as a bride to Fort Russell in Wyoming Territory in 1874, she "saw not much in those first few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords," but soon enough the hard facts of army life began to intrude. Remonstrating with her husband, Jack Wyder Summerhayes, that she had only three rooms and a kitchen instead of "a whole house," she was informed that "women are not reckoned in at all in the...

A Yorkshire veterinarian describes the adventures and experiences of his career as he tends to sick cattle, pregnant ewes, ailing dogs, and their eccentric owners, in a celebration of the relationships between human and animal.

American blogger and food writer Ree Drummond relates the real life story of how she met and married her "Marlboro Man." Her stories about her husband, family, and country living paint a warm and touching picture of life on an Oklahoma ranch.

"In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons -- from a crow spied on New Year's Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring -- what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy...