The road is a long and winding place in V. W. Sheperd's fascinating debut collection, "Over and Over the Road: A Truck Driver's Stories."

This short-story compilation, based on Sheperd's real-life experiences while on the road as a cross-country truck driver, features the ups, downs, and everything in between as he forges a life for himself in the confines of a high-rise tractor trailer.

Life is never dull when you're driving hundreds of miles a day for three months at a time. Through it all, Sheperd manages to keep his humor, his wits, and his sanity.

With seventy-eight different...