My life in six words: a six-word memoir

It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, the new six-word memoir book, is out from Smith Magazine, and I'm in it--which sounds special, but there are almost 1,000 six-word memoirs in this very compact paperback, including by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Quince Mountain. There may be some other trans people in there as well, but I haven't had time to read all the entries.

It All Changed in an Instant is a follow-up to Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, which made the New York Times bestseller list when it came out. There are several other six-word memoir books with various themes, plus some in the works, and the Web site is always taking entries--so check it out.

It seems impossible, but you really can pack a lot of meaning into six words. Some of us (like me) who are ultra-prolific might do well to remember that.

The idea of the six-word memoir started, according to Smith Magazine, from a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Apparently, the writer was challenged to write a short story in exactly six words. The result--"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

This little story will mean different things to different people, as all short stories do. But what it says to me is this: Someone had a baby who died before he or she was able to wear the shoes. The person or couple was anticipating the baby with love because they bought the shoes before the baby was born. Now they're selling them--not just because the baby died, but because they need the money. Otherwise, they would throw them out or give them away.

Basically, a poor person or couple bought shoes they couldn't afford for a baby they loved very much who died. That's a lot for six words.

Many trans people want and need to write their life story. It's necessary--not just for us, but for future generations of trans people who will read these things and take solace in the fact that they are not alone and haven't been for some time.

But there are a lot of reasons why we don't write these stories--I don't have time, I can't write, it's too emotional, it's too painful, I don't want to relive it. But with a six-word memoir, a lot of these excuses disappear.

Try reading some at the Smith Magazine Web site linked to above. Try writing your own. If you like it, publish it on their Web site--they might use it in a future book. Or if that's a little overwhelming, start here. Publish it in the comments section and share it with Tranifesto readers.

So what's my six-word memoir in It All Changed in an Instant? "Born female, now male: strange trip."

What's yours?