The Six-Minute Memoir

Essays that Stefaniak wrote over the course of twenty years for the Iowa Source magazine. The book is called The Six-Minute Memoir because she read many of the essays as six-minute commentaries on Iowa Public Radio. The manuscript also encourages readers to try writing six-minute memoirs of their own, with guided prompts at the end. Readers will find themselves laughing out loud as Mary Helen learns to scuba dive, tries to communicate in Mandarin, and describes a peppermint flying out of her husband's mouth. These essays are full of stress-relieving hilarity and joy, as well as Stefaniak's warm insights into life and family. The Six-Minute Memoir is for readers of Bailey White and Claire Dederer, Nora Ephron and E. B. White--