A Short Drink of Water cover art

A Short Drink of Water

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

A Short Drink of Water

By: Mara Altman
Narrated by: Mara Altman
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £7.72

Buy Now for £7.72

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.

©2021 Mara Altman (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.
Body Positivity Heartfelt Witty Funny
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Thank you for this and all the research you've done. I'm short and happy.

Enlightening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book is a beautiful ensemble of stories and examples that show how engrained discrimination is in our culture. Am important read in a time when many labs are working to make designer-babies a reality.

Thought-provoking and stimulating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.