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

Like the other six-word memoir books (why isn't "I Can't Keep My Own Secrets," the teen version, listed in the series?) this book will keep you highly entertained for a few hours, if you go at it all at once, or for weeks if you have the self-control to spread out the fun. The list of celebrity contributors is much longer in this book than the first and includes Isabelle Allende, Tony Kushner, Alison Bechdel, Junot Diaz and other well-known authors. Bob Barker (My life story --- spay or neuter.), Neil Patrick Harris (Barney...Doogie...! Average names elude me.), and other mainstream stars' submissions also appear.*

"It all changed in an instant" boasts of more artwork than previous books in the series, and the back matter also includes show more longer stories that expound on or explain some of some of the six-word memoirs throughout the book. Once again, though, the real soul of this book is the stories from people you will never know.

Made weird children -- will die proud. (27)
Michael Stipe mumbled my formative years. (57)
Little me would've liked be me. (84)
And because there is always one that hits too close to home:
My cat is an ungrateful brat. (108)

*All page numbers and quotes taken from an advanced uncorrected proof and may not match the published copy. show less

This book is fantastic. I bought myself a copy of the first one, Not Quite What I Was Planning, after hearing about it online, and loved it, then took it around and showed it to everyone I knew, then took it around again and annoyed them all with how much I loved it. But the first time they loved it, too.

The premise of the books is obviously to write your own life story in just six words (see more here), a practice inspired by a famous legend about Ernest Hemingway. He was challenged, it’s said, to write a novel in six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Also according to the legend, he once called it his best work. It certainly hit me harder than The Old Man and the Sea.

The best thing about these books, show more though (there are currently four of them out) is that the writers actually are “famous & obscure.” In It All Changed in an Instant, you’ll see memoirs attributed to Somebodies like Michael Moore and Isabel Allende right next to ones by people you’ve never heard of. Even better than the best part, these people-you-have-never-heard-of write the best ones! Anyone, literally anyone, can submit a memoir to SMITH for consideration. I myself have done a few. Just head on over to the link I supplied above and give it a go. As The New Yorker said in their six-word review, “You could spend a lifetime brainstorming.” Five stars.

P.S.- it is my advice to take these a few at a time for best effect. After a while, as with all little-this-and-that books, they tend to blend together if you read too many. And seriously, take your copy around and share it. People will love you more. show less

Following up on Not Quite What I Planned, this book contains a number of six-word phrases and sentences meant to summarize a life. Entries range from famous authors and performers to obscure folks who submitted something in response to this writing prompt.

Everything is edited by SMITH magazine, who started this idea of six-word memoirs. The editing is quite clever at times, so that one page will contain two complementary or contradictory memoirs, such as, "Dad died. Mum died. I'm next." as the only memoir on a page with "Mom's dead. Dad's dead. I'm free."

Speaking of clever, many of the memoirs are, with puns or ironic comedy. Others are deeply serious and touch on tough subjects like cancer and suicide. Still others are very fluffy, show more and many comment on how much sex the author did or did not have. A few submitters include photographs or illustrations with their memoirs.

The book ends more information about certain entrants' lives with a paragraph or so providing for each featured. In some cases this is helpful to clarify, but I still found some of the non-famous entries to be a little perplexing because six words wasn't enough to explain. Having an extra mini-biography of folks like The Amazing Kreskin or Bob Barker also seemed a bit unnecessary because readers will know who they are.

For whatever reason, I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the previous one; maybe it's because a one-trick pony isn't as exciting once you've seen the one trick already. show less

Although not a typical read for me, I enjoyed this diverse collection of 6 word memoirs. It was a great book to fill little spaces of time; I found myself reaching for it to read a few pages while making dinner, on hold, while on the plane...some of the entries were certainly much more memorable than others, but it was a fun read. I liked the touch of adding a few more detailed entries for some of the six word entries, but most of them read like advertisements for the artists or writers in the book. I would have preferred more info about the entries that made me interested, not more info about the more famous entries.

Two years ago, I liked Not Quite What I Was Planning, SMITH Magazine’s initial compilation of six-word memoirs. Original, clever, insightful ... plus, it was like a box of creative-writing matchsticks. So I was interested in the Early Reviewer offering of the fourth collection in the series, It All Changed in an Instant.

I was disappointed. There are “goods” and a few “greats” among the thousand entries, but they overall seem small, common, narcissistic. They feel boxed-in rather than opening into possibility and insight. Probably, it’s just not an original device anymore for this reader; possibly, there’s too much reality TV already in the collective conscious. The addition of illustrations lent a definite PostSecret feel. show more And the appendix featuring backstories on some of the contributors felt commercial, as though they had been negotiated in exchange for the entries. show less

This is the fourth book of collected six-word memoirs, but my first read in this phenomenon. They ranged from the quirky to the profound. Some of the memoirs are by famous writers, but many are from people who submitted their memoir to the SMITHmag.net site. A few that I made a connection with: “Friendship test: willingness to be inconvenienced” - Gay Talese; “Can't reach top shelves, married tall” Joy Zuercher; “A story told with every wrinkle” - Beth Canton; and “Am hoping there is an epilogue” - Margot Beverley. Fun read.

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 show more 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!

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