“At Its Core, Grief Is Love”—The Power of Six Words to Heal
Guest post by By Elizabeth Shara
The Six-Word Memoir process came into my life at the perfect time. I had spent months trying to express the grief and pain that was tearing my heart apart. Writing had always been my go-to for personal growth and clarity but at this point in my life, filling pages with words did nothing for me. The tear-soaked paper only reminded me how fragile my world had become.
Bad Luck Told In Six Words
Were you able to avoid black cats and misfortune on Friday the 13th? For SixContest#105, we asked for your stories of bad luck in honor of the superstitious day. Many of you shared tales of poor timing (“Last minute homework, total power outage. ”—mzejay), used imagery to convey your calamities (“Broken mirror holds my life's reflections.’” —FeyFox), and described some downright unfortunate circumstances (“Week of 13th: wildfires ravaged town.” —zsuzsu).
Introducing the top six unluckiest stories:
Call for Submissions: “Six Words Fresh Off the Boat” Book!
https://youtu.be/_Hp1C69HhCc
Be in a Book from Fresh Off the Boat & Six-Word Memoirs!
The Six-Word Memoir project and ABC’s acclaimed series, Fresh Off the Boat invite you to share your story for a new book, Six Words Fresh Off the Boat: Stories of Immigration, Identity, and Coming to America, publishing in fall 2017 from Kingswell/Disney Publishing. We believe this book’s simple and inclusive form will offer powerful and fascinating perspectives on coming to America — stories of safe havens, long journeys, complex transitions, and customs brought into this country by the millions of immigrants who indeed make America great.
Who has a Six Words Fresh Off the Boat story? Everyone.
We are seeking the widest range of stories possible, stories from the lens of immigrants and their descendants, as well as anyone who has a family story of coming to America. In other words, all of us have a story to share. We’ll also be including a number of “backstories,” more information below.
Writers are welcome to submit a memoir in their native language (so long as the English translation is six words).
A few examples:
Immigrant. Worker. Sole provider. Extraordinary Woman.
Grandma's apron sailboats docked in kitchens.
Sister pretends she can't use chopsticks.
A secret life because of immigration.
Emerged educated emigrated immigrated. Elected. Elated.
Russian immigrant learns English, becomes MD.
Feuding with three family members? Persian. —Nahnatchka Khan, showrunner, creator Fresh Off the Boat
Another Greek Odyssey, thriving in America. —Arianna Huffington
The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2017, and anyone can share a story on sixwordmemoirs.com/fotb or send an email to fotb@sixwordmemoirs.com.