Ernest Hemingway once famously said that he could write an entire story in just six words - "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." (Before the age of Twitter, no less)
Inspired by that, SMITH Magazine invited writers, both famous and obscure, to write their memoirs in exactly six words, and published it in book form: Not Quite What I Was Planning and the sequel It All Changed in an Instant.
You can even submit your own at SMITH Magazine's website. Some samplings there:
One week left of childhood. Anxious
Shoes perpetually untied. Yet rarely trip.
Lost fiance. Found self. Only eighteen.
Ten weeks pregnant, still my secret.
... and over at National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation:
Found on Craigslist: table, apartment, fiance.
I picked passion. Now I'm poor.
Yale at 16, downhill from there.
What's your six-word memoir?
University: none.
Didn't come back.
(also doubles as a poem)
Nobody can beat Hemingway at that concept, BTW.