Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure
Rachel Fershleiser, Larry Smith
Language: English
Pages: 225
ISBN: 0061374059
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Deceptively simple and surprisingly addictive, Not Quite What I Was Planning is a thousand glimpses of humanity—six words at a time.
One Life. Six Words. What's Yours?
When Hemingway famously wrote, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn," he proved that an entire story can be told using a half dozen words. When the online storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers to submit six-word memoirs, they proved a whole, real life can be told this way too. The results are fascinating, hilarious, shocking, and moving.
From small sagas of bittersweet romance ("Found true love, married someone else") to proud achievements and stinging regrets ("After Harvard, had baby with crackhead"), these terse true tales relate the diversity of human experience in tasty bite-sized pieces. From authors Jonathan Lethem and Richard Ford to comedians Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris, to ordinary folks around the world, everyone has a six-word story to tell.
hugs her chihuahua. —Jessica Salmonson Boys liked her. She preferred books. —Anneliese Cuttle Wife died young; on the mend. —Sumit Paul-Choudhury I’m ten, and have an additude. —Tillie Seger Gay physician designed life-saving AIDS drugs. —Laurent Fischer Never lived up to my potential. —Leslie Sterling Girl from Wisconsin got to leave. —Catherine Michalec Tequila. Amnesia. Coincidence? I think not. —Larry Caraviello Carbohydrates call my name every day. —Mary Petersdorf
man settles for dilettantism. —Bradley Lyons Raised a palimpsest, by many voices. —Saba Cambone Arab hillbilly goes to New York. —Alex Cummings Full life; impossible to summarize in —Matt Love Was rebellious teen. Now raising one. —Michelle Ganon I have not done it all. —Aaron Knoll Woke up, fell down, exited sideways. —Jim Clupper A new memoir every five years. —Srini Rajagopalan My second grade teacher was right. —Janelle Brown Rather sing than stay to chat. —Keri
Willson Someone had to pay the bills. —David Kuizenga Didn’t fit in then; still don’t. —Bob Fingerman I love my lady…and bacon. —Jeff Walton Buried gold long ago. Can’t find. —Maureen Barnes Later-life serendipity led to Authorland. —Jeff Schult A man, a plan, hot damn. —L. Levyne Revenge is living well, without you. —Joyce Carol Oates I forgot I have memory loss. —Mary Hynes Underachieving…but willing to overcompensate halfheartedly. —Frank J. Lepiane A Brooklyn lawyer.
Bragg Full of tequila and bad ideas. —Buck Johnston Lived in America. Came back different. —Nigel French Lehmann-Haupt, yeah; not that one. —Rachel Lehmann-Haupt Expected prime rib; ended with hamburger. —Bernard Lam Drew on walls, creative for life. —DeAnna Sandoval Unborn baby, dancing belly, arriving soon. —Tami Piccione Watchful crooked girl: Comes with ink. —Erin Cressida Wilson Committed voluntarily, until trying to leave. —Michael Holland When all else fails, start
good choices, got lucky. —Matthew Kett Jew-born. Yeshiva-educated. Date goyim. —Abby Ellin Pop split; I write him in. —Sepideh Saremi True love was prevented by leprosy. —Peter Hayward Pay attention to me! Go away. —Kathy Rogers Big hair, big heart, big hurry. —Larry Smith Melancholy marvel at how everything connects. —Lawrence Weschler Climbing, porn, crack, science. Still bored. —Lenny Oliker I’m the fine print; read closely. —Kristina Grish Ran east, ran west, ran