fascinating and deeply felt. Entire books lie beneath “Teen homewrecker. Still miss his kid,” “She got Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I bailed,” and “War destroyed his heart and mine.”
Of course the happily-ever-afters have their own charm, and some of the most touching stories come from those who’ve found the secret of everlasting love. Late Yankees great Bobby Murcer and his wife, Kay, offer a pair of memoirs on Chapter 1. They met when he was eleven, she nine. “When Kay flashed those big brown eyes my way, I was a goner!” he told us just months before he passed away. “Been gazing into them for over fifty years!” Kay said, “We have opposing personality traits, but our daily dose of laughter is the key to marital bliss.”
We also mined love stories from some more mismatched contributors. We’ve got memoirists gay, straight, single, married, divorced, and polyamorous, hailing from Australia to Vietnam. An entry by sex columnist Dan Savage sits alongside one by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Robert Hass. Janice Dickinson dishes out six words of advice in the brazen spirit she’s known for, while Chip Rowe—a.k.a. The Playboy Advisor—reveals something we suspect he’s never told his millions of readers. And what has the world’s most famous divorce lawyer, Raoul Felder, learned about love? Heartbreaking, indeed.
We hope this book will provide some laughs, some glimmers of recognition, and some moments of solace. Under the covers with your sweetheart, over cocktails with friends, or alone with a tube of cookie dough, you’ll find real life on every page. Ponder the stories, write your own, and tell them at sixwordmemoirs.com.
Lastly, we offer this six-word suggestion: Share them with someone you love.
The Editors of SMITH Magazine
January 2009
New York, NY
Offered my heart; he embraced it.
—Sue Kimber
Should have read the
pre-nup agreement.
— Loranne Brown
Not always perfect.
But so worthwhile.
— Lauren Anderson
Lost my virginity to her husband.
— Shawna Mayer
Red-eye. Him window.
Me aisle. Love.
— Joanne Flynn Black
Thought “great legs!”
Said “great smile!”
— Lionel Ancelet
Coffee, my vice. So was he.
— Alessandra Rizzotti
If I get Chlamydia,
blame MySpace.
— Hanorah Slocum
What once
were two, are one.
— George Saunders
I never said “I love you.”
— S. Lynn Taylor
Don’t trust a man who waxes.
— Noelle Hancock
Waited for her
to be legal.
— Jonathan Lesser
Lovesick. 1985.
Suicide by Pop Rocks.
— Jaynel Attolini
She got back on the Vespa.
— Josh McHugh
Magnetic attraction
fused two polar opposites.
— Phil Sylvester
He’s dumb but lifts
heavy stuff.
— Laura Fausset
Will government ever let us marry?
— Vicki Marsh
I think it was the cassoulet.
— Amy Ephron
Never forget, I love you madly.
— Alan Rader
Love blooms like crocuses:
dirty, brave.
— Antay Bilgutay
Feasted, fasted, festered, fostered.
Fisted? Ewww.
— Ben Karlin
I wasn’t supposed
to meet you.
— Deborah Greene
Silently suffered
his facial hair
experiments.
— Elizabeth Minkel
War destroyed his heart and mine.
— Dr. Maggie McClure
Met him online.
Blogged our divorce.
— Kristy Sammis
Erectile dysfunction doesn’t
kill true love.
— Karin Poklen
No, you can’t have the
toaster.
— Diana Spechler
Should have listened to
the soothsayer.
— Lisa Johnson
While playing
wingman, found
my wife.
— Scott Northrup
Ten-year romance without
your participation.
— Amanda Pawesk
Parents:
“Mentioning homosexuality
upsets your brother.”
— Dean Morris
Seeking Hell, finding Heaven.
Very disappointed.
— Richard Zacks
He left his wife
for me.
— Selina
Of course the happily-ever-afters have their own charm, and some of the most touching stories come from those who’ve found the secret of everlasting love. Late Yankees great Bobby Murcer and his wife, Kay, offer a pair of memoirs on Chapter 1. They met when he was eleven, she nine. “When Kay flashed those big brown eyes my way, I was a goner!” he told us just months before he passed away. “Been gazing into them for over fifty years!” Kay said, “We have opposing personality traits, but our daily dose of laughter is the key to marital bliss.”
We also mined love stories from some more mismatched contributors. We’ve got memoirists gay, straight, single, married, divorced, and polyamorous, hailing from Australia to Vietnam. An entry by sex columnist Dan Savage sits alongside one by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Robert Hass. Janice Dickinson dishes out six words of advice in the brazen spirit she’s known for, while Chip Rowe—a.k.a. The Playboy Advisor—reveals something we suspect he’s never told his millions of readers. And what has the world’s most famous divorce lawyer, Raoul Felder, learned about love? Heartbreaking, indeed.
We hope this book will provide some laughs, some glimmers of recognition, and some moments of solace. Under the covers with your sweetheart, over cocktails with friends, or alone with a tube of cookie dough, you’ll find real life on every page. Ponder the stories, write your own, and tell them at sixwordmemoirs.com.
Lastly, we offer this six-word suggestion: Share them with someone you love.
The Editors of SMITH Magazine
January 2009
New York, NY
Offered my heart; he embraced it.
—Sue Kimber
Should have read the
pre-nup agreement.
— Loranne Brown
Not always perfect.
But so worthwhile.
— Lauren Anderson
Lost my virginity to her husband.
— Shawna Mayer
Red-eye. Him window.
Me aisle. Love.
— Joanne Flynn Black
Thought “great legs!”
Said “great smile!”
— Lionel Ancelet
Coffee, my vice. So was he.
— Alessandra Rizzotti
If I get Chlamydia,
blame MySpace.
— Hanorah Slocum
What once
were two, are one.
— George Saunders
I never said “I love you.”
— S. Lynn Taylor
Don’t trust a man who waxes.
— Noelle Hancock
Waited for her
to be legal.
— Jonathan Lesser
Lovesick. 1985.
Suicide by Pop Rocks.
— Jaynel Attolini
She got back on the Vespa.
— Josh McHugh
Magnetic attraction
fused two polar opposites.
— Phil Sylvester
He’s dumb but lifts
heavy stuff.
— Laura Fausset
Will government ever let us marry?
— Vicki Marsh
I think it was the cassoulet.
— Amy Ephron
Never forget, I love you madly.
— Alan Rader
Love blooms like crocuses:
dirty, brave.
— Antay Bilgutay
Feasted, fasted, festered, fostered.
Fisted? Ewww.
— Ben Karlin
I wasn’t supposed
to meet you.
— Deborah Greene
Silently suffered
his facial hair
experiments.
— Elizabeth Minkel
War destroyed his heart and mine.
— Dr. Maggie McClure
Met him online.
Blogged our divorce.
— Kristy Sammis
Erectile dysfunction doesn’t
kill true love.
— Karin Poklen
No, you can’t have the
toaster.
— Diana Spechler
Should have listened to
the soothsayer.
— Lisa Johnson
While playing
wingman, found
my wife.
— Scott Northrup
Ten-year romance without
your participation.
— Amanda Pawesk
Parents:
“Mentioning homosexuality
upsets your brother.”
— Dean Morris
Seeking Hell, finding Heaven.
Very disappointed.
— Richard Zacks
He left his wife
for me.
— Selina
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