Fiction

illustration of two hands holding a copy of the book The Let Them Theory
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Stefanie Keenan / Getty.

Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?

Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.

DMZ

His father had told him that one day he would wake up in the morning, look at his wife on the other side of the bed, and wonder what he was doing there

Mr. Sumarsono

Though she was only ten, she was expected to make this stranger, who spoke no English, feel at home

Slatland

For every situation there is a proper distance. Sometimes you need to rise above the earth to gain perspective

Nights Can Turn Cool in Viborra

“How lucky the Crimms are to have scraped acquaintance with me,” thought prizewinning travel writer Chick Jardine, ‘ for I seldom reveal my identity to ordinary people ”