Albert Einstein once wrote, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” But what did he mean by this? We can only begin to make sense of his words by considering them through his unique perspective as a scientist and philosopher. Along the way, we’ll learn about Taoism—a worldview finding wisdom in the lessons found in nature.

Come March, the campsites along the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail swell with starry-eyed hikers intent on walking 2,180 miles north to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Some 3,600 hikers begin their trek at Springer Mountain, Georgia and move in packs northward on their way to Maine. With this number of hikers, the northbound thru-hiking experience on the trail is fundamentally social. This is not the case for those hikers that start in Maine and hike southward. In fact, there’s a lot of differences between a northbound and southbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

These memoirs from southbound thru-hikers will help you understand what it takes to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.

Shaku Maku is a non-fiction story written by Veteran Artist Residencies alum, Ben Thurnhoffer. The story centers around Ben’s time at Ramadi’s OP Sebah Taj, his interactions with locals seeking reparations, and temporarily ‘going switches’ after being shot at by a supposed ally.

Hope the Eternal is a fictional story by N. B. Hankes. This story explores the inner world of a man suffering from locked-in syndrome, a condition where the body appears to be vegetative yet the mind remains active.

Another Out is a non-fiction short story by N. B. Hankes on his experience returning home from a 14-month tour of combat with 4th Brigade 1st Infantry Division.

The Fiddler is a fictional story by N. B. Hankes of the transformative power of art.

…there’s a religious impulse that exists in all times and places. Einstein refers to this as a cosmic religious feeling, as evidenced in some of the Psalms of David, some of the prophets, and in Buddhism…This is the stuff of mystics.