The Six-Minute Memoir

So wonderful. A great escape into life...the positive parts of it anyway....told with unflinching character, love, life, family. Please read if only seeking positive vibes!!! A hug on a bad day. A silver lining in a gray cloud.. A reminder that life is full of warmth and wonder.

I found this book to be very good. It had me hooked from the beginning.. Was a great read. It would definitely be a book I would recommend.

Very well-written with several astute observations about life. Thank you, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

For more than two decades, Mary Helen Stefaniak wrote a column for Iowa Source magazine, focusing on the ordinary, and often very relatable, details of Midwestern life of a middle aged white woman. In these short essays collected here into a memoir, Stefaniak illustrates small snippets of her life, building a (somewhat) whole picture by the time we reach the end. I loved the idea of these short memoir essays, as they reminded me of the types of things we attempted to write in my Creative Non Fiction writing class in college, relating the personal to a larger context. Stefaniak, who grew up in Milwaukee before moving to Iowa City, felt like she could be part of my mom's family (which started out in Iowa City before moving to Milwaukee!). There's not a lot of action here, so if you're looking for one of those memoirs that will blow your mind, this is not it. Instead, these are simply a pleasure to read through, perfect for if you're just wanting a smile between the stresses of your day or a little dose of serotonin before bedtime. I enjoyed these essays quite a lot, and I think someone a generation or two older than me would enjoy them even more.

3.5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and University of Iowa Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! I will be posting this review to my instagram and blog closer to its release date and will update this post with links at that time.

The Six-Minute Memoir: Fifty-Five Short Essays on Life was a fun read. It’s a series of short memoirs that can be read in 6 minutes or less. This is a great book to read when you’re on the go because it’s readable in little snippets.

I’m very interested in memoir as a genre, and I think Stefaniak’s concept of the six-minute memoir could be a great way to start writing my own. She even provides prompts at the end of the book to help writers get started! Even if you’re not looking to publish memoirs, a six-minute memoir is a reasonable goal for a person who wants to write their personal history and doesn’t know where to start.

I enjoyed reading Stefaniak’s observations on the people and situations around her, as well as her descriptions of place. She does a great job with setting in each of these memoirs. She also makes great connections between seemingly disparate ideas. She is alternately funny and heartfelt, and always interesting.

THE SIX-MINUTE MEMOIR is a collection of essays by Mary Helen Stefaniak originally published in The Iowa Source, a monthly magazine. The title originates from them all being about a thousand words in length, which would take about six minutes to read aloud at a comfortable pace. The topics run the gamut, but her husband, children, and swimming friends make frequent appearances.

My interest ebbed and flowed, but I appreciated the self-contained nature of the essays, not knowing what the next topic might be about but having closure until I was ready to revisit the book; my favorites have something in common: they are the multi-part installments that close the book. One series focuses on the staggering renovation they did on their home, a notable historical house that they have good evidence to suggest was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The second series was a three-parter on a health scare, titled, "My Brain Event."

I also found myself marking up the essay, "Against Multitasking" for the ways it helps articulate the mental load so often shouldered by women:

"We could argue that multitasking is one of the many burdens that have held women back for centuries. It's pretty hard to write a symphony or a novel -- or even assemble a stock portfolio or change the oil on the car -- while you're cooking dinner, helping somebody with her homework, and feeding applesauce to the baby, all at the same time. Now squeeze in a full-time job on top of that, and you've got a lot of women multitasking their way through their lives of not-so-quiet desperation."

For budding writers, she closes the book with writing prompts if you are so inspired to try your hand at your own six-minute memoir.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I liked the shortness of the memoirs, I was doubtful about it at first but really enjoyed it in the end.
The stories are so mundane, yet they are sweet and interesting to read. It is also written in a very funny way. I laughed a lot while reading this. It felt nice to read about someones life.

I liked the shortness of the memoirs, I was doubtful about it at first but really enjoyed it in the end. The stories are so mundane, yet they are sweet and interesting to read. It is also written in a very funny way. I laughed a lot while reading this. It felt nice to read about someones life.

Thank you NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for the eARC.

I really liked the short memoirs! Whenever I think of memoirs, I think that they would have stories filled with drama, some big life-event, or whatnot, but the stories here aren't out-of-world extraordinary— and maybe that's what makes this special? Please don't get me wrong, the stories may be simple, but the writing is far from "boring". I found myself smiling and laughing at various moments throughout this book 😊

A lovely way to spend a few minutes each day. I recommend this wide-ranging collection to my writing students when they're stuck and struggling, or when they just need a break from novel writing.. In The Six-Minute Memoir, Mary Helen Stefeniak proves that no subject is too small or too obscure to write about, and observant writers can find meaning in the overlooked corners of life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Short essays are little doorways into the lives of other people. These stories remind me of sitting with my aging father as he reminisces of years gone by - telling his own stories, retelling ones he's heard. They are comforting in their own way.