A short memoir might be an account of a single, life-changing event, or it may be reflection on a period of growth or transition. Anyone with any amount of life experience can write a memoir-no dramatic childhood or odd-defying life accomplishments required. It was not until I took a college class on creative nonfiction that I realized memoirs were not just autobiographies of people with exciting lives. Memoir essays were my gateway into reading full-length memoirs. Others are stand-alone pieces published in essay collections. You see examples of short memoirs all the time on sites like Buzzfeed and The New York Times.
What exactly are short memoirs? I define them as essay-length works that weave together life experiences around a central theme. In roughly 5–30 minutes, I can consume a complete morsel of literature, which always leaves me happier than the same amount of time spent doom-scrolling through my various social news feeds. The length allows me to read broadly on a whim with minimal commitment.
I love delving into the details of other people’s lives. The descriptions of others' pandemic experiences felt relatable without being clichè or obvious - a difficult thing to accomplish when describing a universal experience.I love memoirs and essays, so the genre of essay-length short memoirs is one of my favorites. The physical copy is also a great gift for teachers and students but also resonates with people like me who aren't at all involved with primary or secondary education. To make sure you get the best reading experience possible, we recommend that you order the physical book instead of a digital copy. However, the e-book version is almost unreadable, according to the reviews of those who ordered the Kindle and iPad versions. One thing to note: The visuals and free-flowing layout of pages in the physical book give each memoir "its own texture," according to Smith - and are crucial to fully experience the stories inside. I was captivated by the stories, visuals, and organization of the book and kept thinking of what my own six-word memoir would be. The six-word structure makes the book more approachable without diminishing the power of the memoirs inside. Some examples of O'Connor's students' memoirs include "Missing who I didn't really meet" and "But trying your best, is perfect." While it can sometimes be difficult to get the most out of this exercise, O'Connor says she is "absolutely obsessed with the concept," and says, "it would be awesome to have more tools, like the classroom kit, to help implement the memoirs into curriculum." "I wouldn't say it was totally successful because our memoirs were done at the beginning of the switch to virtual learning and were only a small part of a larger unit, so some students thought of the six words as titles for their longer essays rather than a synthesis of their stories." "I used it to practice effective storytelling and some kids got really into it," says Kay O'Connor, who teaches the 7th and 8th grades. Since the inception of the six-word memoir idea, teachers have been informally incorporating six-word memoirs into their lesson plans.
The book also comes with a free classroom kit that educators can use to help format lesson plans for their students to write their own six-word memoirs.
Here's why " A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year" is a great book to read, gift, and even use in classroom settings: In this installment, children as young as three and their grandparents alike shared personal, funny, and candid memoirs about their lives with illustrations that bring their words to life by creating really engaging pages for readers. All of the books are edited by Larry Smith, but the authors range from famous authors to children and other first-time writers. "The New York Times'" bestselling six-word memoir series, where people of all ages are asked to share a personal story in just six words, was launched in 2006 on what was then called Twttr, and has since grown to be a book series, classroom guide, card game, and learning tool across countless professions. Yet, hundreds of young students, teachers, and parents across the country shared poignant, creative six-word memoirs about their pandemic experiences in Larry Smith's new book " A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year," inspired by classic children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. As any editor can tell you, it's incredibly difficult to tell succinct stories.