Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak: by Writers Famous and Obscure

Six-Word Memoirs

by Larry Smith, Rachel Fershleiser

“A perfect distraction and inspiration, and a collection that begs to be shared.”  — Denver Post

Love wounds the heart and soul . . .

From the editors of the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning comes another collection of terse true tales—this time simple sagas exploring the complexities of the human heart. Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak contains hundreds of personal stories about the pinnacles and pitfalls of romance. Brilliant in their brevity, these insightful slivers of passion, pain, and connection capture every shade of love and loss—six words at a time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Biography, Short Stories, Romance, Anthologies

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Larry Smith is the founder of The Six-Word Memoir® Project, a bestselling series of nine books, board game, live event program, and a global phenomenon found in classrooms, conferences, and corporate settings alike.

Larry speaks on the power of personal storytelling across the world. He has been invited to work with teams at Twitter, Levi’s, JPMorgan Chase, Snapchat, Dell, Yelp, Shutterfly, ESPN and Google; nonprofits including the Zen Hospice Project and Dress For Success, as well as foundations, philanthropies, and schools. He’s a frequent speaker at conferences such as TEDx, PopTech, Summit Series (called “Davos for the Millennials”), the AARP 50+ Convention. He teaches the class, “What’s Your Story? How to Deliver an Authentic Elevator Pitch” in private sessions and on-site at companies.

Prior to founding the Six-Word Memoir project, Larry had a robust career in journalism. He was articles editor of Men’s Journal, executive editor of Yahoo! Internet Life, senior editor at ESPN The Magazine, a founding editor of P.O.V. and editor-in-chief of its sister publication, EGG. While living in San Francisco, he was managing editor of the wire/syndication service AlterNet and an editor at Dave Eggers' Might Magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, ESPN Magazine, Popular Science, Men’s Health, Salon, Slate, Buzzfeed, and has contributed essays to many anthologies, including Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire, Deceit, and Devotion and The End of the Golden Gate: Writers on Loving and (Sometimes) Leaving San Francisco.

He lives in Berkeley, CA, with his wife, the writer Piper Kerman, and their son.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of these are clever, occasionally one may move or surprise you; still, they are the literary equivalent of popcorn: small and salty, hard to stop consuming, but—alas!—unsatisfying. The form, supposedly invented by Hemingway (“baby shoes for sale: never worn”) is designed to sum up a novel—or a memoir—in a half-dozen words. Sure, it's a great high school creative writing assignment, and it would make a really good St. Valentine's Day gift too, but six words just ain't enough to get anything real good going. Good Lord, isn't the haiku hard enough?

Still, there are pleasures here. One thing I especially liked about the little memoirs of love in this book is that they surprise you. They can be amusing and merciless at the same time, and often the worst ones are by the famous, the best ones by people you never heard of.

Here are ten I liked, taken from the first sixteen pages:

What once were two are one. --George Saunders

If I get Chlamydia, blame MySpace. --Hannah Slocum

Don't trust a man who waxes. --Noelle Hancock

He's dumb but lifts heavy stuff. --Laura Fauss

Love blooms like crocuses: dirty, brave. --Antay Bilgutay

No, you can't have the toaster. --Diana Spechler

While playing wingman, found my wife. --Scott Northrup

You wouldn't litter, but cheated plenty. --Jennifer I Curtis

Wanted a wife. Got a cat. --Anders Porter

Three marriages. Two divorces. BA .333. --Ron Carmean

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A word is worth one coin, silence is worth two." The Talmud

“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” Blaise Pascal

I read this thanks to Bill Kerwin's review. In this book the editors of Smith Magazine collect six word memoirs that challenge authors to be creative and succinct. Once Ernest Hemingway was asked if he could write a story in six words, and he wrote, “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” That's the basic idea of narrative compression.

But the memoirs here are not narratives, usually. Often they are punchlines, which is as expected.

Some of my favorites here:

“What once were two, are one.”--George Saunders

“No, you can’t have the toaster.”

“It never hurt as good again.”

“Found my husband on Craigslist. Twice.”

“We met on Halloween. No costumes.”

“It helps to label the books.”

“He still needs me at sixty-four.”—Armistead Maupin

“I came. He conquered. We divided.”

I didn’t love many of them, but it was fun to share this with friends and family.

If you teach writing, or you write, there’s a good formal challenge here.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me maybe 30-40 minutes to read through this book, giggling a bit, wincing a bit, stopping for a brief moment to ponder the story behind the simple 6 words each author offered. The emotion--love, joy, pain, betrayal, boredom, frustration, confusion, devotion, and more--that can be conveyed in 6 words is astounding. I am in awe. This is a fascinating project of Smith Magazine's that I hope lives long--it's too interesting to give up on.

I, of course, had to come up with my own (though it seems like someone else MUST have said it, too):

"Thought I was smarter than this."

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Equally as interesting as the original. The one that ripped my heart out was "His fists loved me. He didn't." Been there.

[Katherine San Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six-word Memoirs: "Not always perfect. But so worthwhile."

[TagReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. My favorite ones:

"My life's accomplishments? Sanity, and you." - Elizabeth Gilbert
"Love. Loss. Love lost. Stories gained." - Kristen Jones
"Loved. Lost. Cried. Raged. Chocolate. Next." - Jackie Childress
"The apartment is much cleaner now." - Daniel J. Stasiewski
"She knows what my Kryptonite is." - Matt Ruff
"Butterflies still kicking after ten years." - Lisa Taylor
"Love plus laughter: happily ever after." - Dan Goggin
"Went for milk, never came back." - Lindsay Freda
"He sees the me I don’t." - Mary Catherine Hamelin
"Someone should’ve objected at my wedding." - Cynthia Ceilan
"Romantic comedies screwed me for life." - Daniela Medina
"May I have the last dance?" - Robert Hass

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazon apparently doesn't allow 6-word reviews.

Their guidance: "between 75 and 300."

Such verbosity for such pithy memoirs.

Memoirs? These are more like epitaphs.

Writers famous (and not so) contributed.

The rhythm builds quote to quote.

The unsaid resonates, off the page.

So, if Amazon accepts, my review:

Share with lover; discuss. I'm verklempt.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading these. Just about every possible contingency was covered.

[Mary BookHounds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may have to come back and add my six word memoir to the reveiw. I can't think of one now. (oooohhhh, there I did it!) I am so addicted to this series of books. They are just fun and quick reading.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my six-word review for this collection of memoirs:

Stories that are short, but wonderful.

[Susan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology collection of six word memoirs that focus on the topic of sex, love and relationships.
This is obviously a very quick but contemplative read and because it can be picked up and put down a lot it would be great to read on the commute. I found it amazing how each story evoked so much given the economy of language the writers were given to work with. Although this only took me minutes to read I feel like I am going to be re-reading this book often.

I feel like the best way to recommend this book to anyone is to show you some of my favourite examples:

* Happy enough... was her tentative reply- Salli Hollenzer
* Love. Loss. Love lost. Stories gained- Kristen Jones
* Married by Elvis, divorced by Friday- G. M. Rouse
* He changed me. I outgrew him. Marcie Vargas
* She wanted Gatsby. Got 'gets by'- Beth Cornellan
* Find, feel, fuck, forgive, forget. Fantastic. Janice Dickinson.
* I wasn't looking. She found me- Hal Isacson.

[Cathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative expression within stricture is always interesting, and playing off the famous Hemingway six-word story is ripe for possibility. It's more than a bit disappointing (though, frankly, not at all surprising) that in general the submissions devoted to heartbreak are more numerous, more diverse, and more distinct than those about love. I might have preferred separate sections for the writers famous vs. and obscure, but I also see value in the blending.

A sampling:

"I thought we had more time." ~ Joe Hill
"He sees the me I don't." ~ Mary Catherine Hamelin
"Should have listened to the soothsayer." ~ Lisa Johnson
"I loved the idea of you." ~ Audrey Adu-Appiah

and what may be my favorite:

"It's like my heart has sciatica." ~ Jonathan Ames

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great concept- the simplicity and power of our language and, in particular, the written word. It can lead to so many thoughts and emotions. I appreciated the explanation at the beginning about the start of the six-word memoir concept and found some of the memoirs (on love and heartbreak) to be truly profound, amusing, or intriguing. There is almost no way to read through this short book and not find at least one you can relate to! I am interested in reading the original collection.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so interesting to read random people's six-word thoughts on love. Some of the quotes cracked me up while others made me kind of sad. This one is a much faster read than the original Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs but it's still very enjoyable.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saddest: "Replaced by a mail-order bride."
Funniest: "We were roadkill on love's highway."
Also fabulous:
"He should have married the television."
"Never again. Maybe once. Yes, okay."
"Wonder-filled, and never a dull torment."
"Like Poltergeist, without all the ghosts."
"Bad idea being wife number four."
"Found true love at a funeral."
"Found fellow cliff-diver. Best risk ever."

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find books like this interesting, in the sense that I'd prefer to pick them up at random and flick through them now and again. I like brevity in things I'm reading: it gives my imagination more to do. So in that sense, very interesting.

Some of these are heartbreaking, some make me smile, and some are just infuriating.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at my library while I was shelving and brought it home so I wouldn't be reading it at my desk. The concept is to use only six words to sum up how one feels about life or in this case, love and heartbreak. It felt very voyeuristic but these short statements are very revealing.

[Rada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this book on my Kindle. It had been on my list; and since it was only 99 cents, I bought it.

I read it at lunch. It is amazing to me so much can be conveyed in a persons life in only six words. Makes me wonder what six words I would choose for myself. It was a good fast read.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six words aren't enough to review.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pithy, poignant, sad and sometimes funny.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love these short vignettes on love, heartbreak, and other assorted subjects

[LillyBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six words to explain everything? Sometimes.

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short books make my Goodreads goal.

[MAILA · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his smile I saw forever


buku ini berisi kumpulan #sixwordstory kayak di twitter gitu. bedanya ini ber-tema cinta dan patah hati, sarkas cinta2an dan..pokoknya temanya cinta wq

bagus, di beberapa #sixword ada yang bikin meringis, senyum, tertawa dan bingung karena saya gak tau artinya apaan. untung bacanya di bookmate, tinggal taptap dan translate langsung ''oooh, itu toh artinya''

#lha #malahpromosi

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these made me laugh, some of these made my heart drop, and some of them made me put my phone down and think about the meaning bubbling underneath those six words. I even found a few that I could relate to my ex boyfriend, but more importantly, the man who is my boyfriend now.

There were definitely some in there that I either didn't like or thought they were just okay, but overall it's absolutely worth reading.

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

"If I get Chlamydia, blame Myspace"
"He posted our sex tape online"
"Unrequited love is just another addiction"
"Boyfriend? In the nightstand with batteries"
"It's worth it, despite your mother"
"Unfortunately, eight inches was not enough"
"eHarmony reject, Match.com failure, unloveable me"

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Some of these managed to be incredibly poignant, touching or funny in just 6 words. Some didn't. You can read this in about half an hour and it's worth that time. This is pretty darn cute and feels like a great connection of so much humanity. Most of the time I wanted and needed more to be satisfying though.

Also, one of my past professors has one in here, which I discovered while reading.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just like these series so much. Don't have much else to say.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and will pick up another. ;)

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captivating.