My Reach Always Exceeds My Grasp

Legend has it that author Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Two years ago, SMITH online magazine re-ignited the idea and started a reader contest: Your life story in six words. The magazine was soon flooded with thousands of entries from readers submitting their own six word memoirs; some bittersweet and inspirational and others funny, thought provoking and hilarious.

The idea flourished and became the premise of a new book recently published by the editors of Smith magazine entitled “Not Quite What I Was Planning – Six word Memoirs by Famous and Obscure Writers”.

In an age where micro-blogging and text messaging has become the norm; six words can indeed tell a story.

Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs from Writers Famous and Obscure collects almost 1,000 six-word memoirs, including additions from many celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, Deepak Chopra, Moby, and more. A New York Times bestseller and subject of hundreds of stories from The New Yorker to NPR and hailed as “American haiku,” SMITH’s book of six-word memoirs is both a moving peek at the minutia of humanity and the most inspirational toilet reading you’ll ever find.

I discovered earlier this year that out of over ten thousand submissions, my six word memoir was chosen to be a part of the book. ‘My reach always exceeds my grasp‘ – is my contribution to this valuable effort. Of course there is a huge story underlying my chosen six words and that will be the subject of another blog post in the near future. For now, I’m enjoying the inspiration I’ve derived from this exciting achievement and I will use it as motivation to pursue other goals as I reach beyond my grasp towards future possibilities.

Update: My memoir is also included in this You Tube Video of Editor’s picks. Look for my six at 0.55.