The word pops up anywhere exaggerations are sold. Telling a tall tale. Placing a tall order. Tall, dark, and handsome. And, of course, let's not forget the proverbial "tall drink of water". This bothers Mara Altman, and not only because she's five-foot-zero, but also because her experience as a journalist, humorist, and essayist has led her to challenge assumptions about human existence. Altman's most recent book, Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front (and Back), was a 2019 finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and wittily dissected long-held assumptions about our bodies for the deeper truth. Her conclusion: There is greatness in our grossness.

In her Audible Original A Short Drink of Water, Altman challenges the assumption that taller is better. Her journey to empower those at the short end of the stick (and why is it always the short end?) delivers a hilarious and heartfelt look at the differences between tall and short and how people seek to narrow them both physically and psychologically. You'll meet people of every size and opinion in this deeply reported and richly comical ride through a world where every inch counts.