It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure [Paperback]

Larry Smith (Author), Rachel Fershleiser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

Thousands of people around the world responded to SMITH Magazine's call for six-word memoirs. Following up on the smashing success of the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning, here are more memoirs from Sarah Silverman, Junot Diaz, Neil Patrick Harris, Suze Orman, Gay Talese, Tony Hawk, Amy Tan—and hundreds of never-before-published writers.

Funny and bittersweet, witty and wild, or downright tragic, these addictive life stories are both monumental and miniscule. Six-word memoirs have become a global phenomenon, offering anyone and everyone a telling peek at humanity and a chance to find the writer within.

"Father: ‘Anything but journalism.' I rebelled." —Malcolm Gladwell

"Live man's life in woman's body!" —Diane von Furstenberg

"Met wife at her bachelorette party." —Eddie Matz

"The miserable childhood leads to royalties." —Frank McCourt

"I never checked my lottery ticket." —Casey Burra

"Shiny head. Hippie hair. Shiny head." —Wally Lamb

"Bipolar, no two ways about it." —Jason Owen

"So would you believe me anyway?" —James Frey

"Can't look at heart donor's picture." —Tonia Hall

"Healed with steel, then got real." —Dr. Mehmet Oz

"I still practice my Oscar speech." —Jennifer Labbienti

"I've done it all except hear." —Marlee Matlin

Editorial Reviews

Review

“American haiku.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch )

“A good number conjure up both a story line and a worldview. Six-word review: Buy it, keep it in bathroom.” (Philadelphia Magazine )

“I fell so in love with it.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution )

“You could spend a lifetime brainstorming.” (The New Yorker )

“Irresistibly clever.” (Chicago Tribune )

“The brilliance is in the brevity.” (New York Post )

“Will thrill minimalists and inspire maximalists.” (Vanity Fair )

“A perfect distraction and inspiration.” (Denver Post )

“A fabulously appealing exercise both for writers and for readers.” (Telegraph )

“A torrent of self-expression not unlike the one launched by Frank Warren when he began inviting people to write their secrets on the back of postcards.” (Toronto Star )

“Six words. Personal stories. Infinite possibilities. These ADD autobiographies prove that brevity can be the soul not simply of wit.” (VSL.com )

“The petite self-portraits encompass love and love, joy and sorrow-everything you’d expect from a longer book.” (ReadyMade Magazine )

“The pithiest of life stories.” (O, The Oprah Magazine )

“Dude’s weird premise yields interesting stories.” (Ira Glass, NPR's This American Life )

“Makes for compulsive reading and prove arguably as insightful as any 300+ page biography. Taken as a whole, this cascade of quotes from contributors famous and unknown creates a dizzying snowball effect of perspectives and feelings.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Six-word memoirs leave book lover speechless.” (Rocky Mountain News )

About the Author

SMITH Magazine founding editor Larry Smith has worked as an editor at Men's Journal, ESPN: The Magazine, and Might. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Popular Science, on Salon.com, and many other places. Larry lives in New York City

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061719439
• ISBN-13: 978-0061719431
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, great for all occasions., January 27, 2010

By 

Lisa Qiu "Lisetta" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure (Paperback)

I can't believe it's finally out!

After obsessively looking at six word memoirs online these editors have gleaned the best of the best. There's so much diversity in thought and storytelling in a hyper-limited platform.

Whenever I tell people about the book they usually say that they're really into the idea or they've already got one or gets them religiously for friends in hospitals or are at a turning point in their life.

At first I thought the idea was a too precious, but there's so much depth and humor in these books--- I became addicted and started writing ones of my own.

I think this book is a must have for writers. It inspires and is a great exercise.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Knew Six Words Could Be So Powerful!, May 20, 2010

By 

D. Sorel "book lovah" (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure (Paperback)

Legend has it, Ernest Hemingway was sitting in a bar (predictable!) when a fan of his approached him and commented on how well he can tell a story in only a few words. He then challenged Hemingway to tell a story in the fewest amount of words possible. Hemingway shot back with "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn". Whether this story is true or just once of those great Hemingway myths, it is clear that a full story can be told in only 6 words. SMITH Magazine decided to use this as a premise for a project in which they asked their readers to write their autobiography/memoir in only 6 words. Only expecting a hundred or so responses, the editor of SMITH Magazine was astounding when hundreds of thousands of people wrote in. Among these entries were some famous people such as Stephen Colbert, Alison Bechdel, Yogi Berra's granddaughter and others. These responses were then published in four different books two of which are just overall collections of the 6 word memoirs, one directed towards teens, and one specifically on love and heartbreak.

The entries are almost all different and range from the funny to the poignant. I laughed out loud when I read "failed at love, won at scrabble" and was incredibly moved by a memoir about a woman who was raped and was unable to move on making her feel as if her life was useless. I smiled at the sentence "awkward girl takes chances. Fun ensures" and even wished that I had written it! Interspersed with text memoirs are graphic memoirs which brings an interesting aspect to the book.

I know that some have not given this book the best of reviews, but I would really encourage those people to re-read the book and think a little while on each entry because many have great depth. Personally, I loved it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Poetic Form, January 12, 2010

By 

Bliss Ford (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure (Paperback)

What the authors of the Six-Word Movement have done is create a new poetic form. It's a universe, a story in six words, the briefest of prose poems. Their latest book incorporates all the whimsy and intelligence of their other books and I recommend It All Changed in an Instant--to everyone!