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The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book
New York Times Bestseller Postsecret.com founder Frank Warren is back with an irresistible addition to his bestselling PostSecret series. For The Secret Lives of Men and Women, Warren has selected a never-before-seen collection of postcards bearing the explosive confessions and captivating revelations of men and women everywhere. Created using photographs, collages, illustrations, and more, the handmade cards offer a compelling dialogue on some of today’s most provocative topics—from marriage and infidelity, to parenting, office politics, repressed fantasies, and even abortion—daring us to consider how well we really know our friends, family, even ourselves.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 9, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
August 27, 2010
This is a neat book that I came across by accident in the non-fiction section of my library. The author - Frank Warren - started PostSecret as a community project several years ago by distributing thousands of self-addressed postcards inviting people to send them back to him with their personal secrets, of course anonymously. This book is an extension of this project and presents hundreds of anonymous self-made postcards containing various personal revelations. They range from funny:
I once gave LSD to a possum
I love peeing in public so whenever I go on vacation... I look for new and exciting places to PEE
to wacky
I have eaten dog in a foreign country... and I liked it
kinky
I had sex with a married strange man moments after we met on the elevator
I want to watch my wife make love to another man
sick
I faked miscarriage... twice
sad
When I write a To-Do list... I write "Starve Yourself," but I abbreviate it S.Y. so no one knows
or angry
You want to know a secret? The nicest thing you ever did to me was LEAVE. So good riddance and good luck finding a new doormat.
Apparently, many people find it therapeutic, so rid themselves of their secrets in such an anonymous way. Maybe I should consider doing it too?
Check out the PostSecret project's website for more secrets and further info.
http://www.postsecret.com/
I once gave LSD to a possum
I love peeing in public so whenever I go on vacation... I look for new and exciting places to PEE
to wacky
I have eaten dog in a foreign country... and I liked it
kinky
I had sex with a married strange man moments after we met on the elevator
I want to watch my wife make love to another man
sick
I faked miscarriage... twice
sad
When I write a To-Do list... I write "Starve Yourself," but I abbreviate it S.Y. so no one knows
or angry
You want to know a secret? The nicest thing you ever did to me was LEAVE. So good riddance and good luck finding a new doormat.
Apparently, many people find it therapeutic, so rid themselves of their secrets in such an anonymous way. Maybe I should consider doing it too?
Check out the PostSecret project's website for more secrets and further info.
http://www.postsecret.com/
July 5, 2011
(the other books out so far are: PostSecret, My Secret, and A Lifetime of Secrets. These are also recommended)
So, this week I went down to DC to visit my older brother. Seeing as I’m incapable of doing anything in the real world, I decided not to check a bag for the flight and just do the whole ‘two carry ons’ thing. So, of course, with the clothes and other items necessary for my four day trip there wasn’t much room left for my library books. Consequently, I found myself perusing my brother’s rather limited bookshelves when I got down to his condo. What I found? A lot of books on WWII, business, and then… a gold mine.
My brother owns three of the four PostSecret books compiled by Frank Warren. These are books filled with secrets people have sent in, anonymously, to Frank. Some of them were disturbing – like, OMFG. Others were funny, sad, cute, uplifting… It was a book loaded with emotion. It was a quick read, and also a pretty one seeing as the book is done in an artsy fashion – like a collage. I’ve read the books he owns twice now. What is so compelling about these people secrets? Some of them are the same as yours.
Sometimes we feel very alone – that our burden is too much to carry, our secrets too heavy for us too bear. We don’t have the courage to tell anyone, yet the silence is suffocating. When I read these people’s secrets, I think of my own – and I feel better. I also feel connected. We are not alone in our secrets, humiliations, fears, desires. Even if no one shares your secret in the entire book, there are so many secrets out there suffocating people and starving them of life. You look around and you say – these are the secret thoughts of America. It’s enlightening, scary, saddening. But it’s a touch to your soul. I don’t even know how to describe it. I’ve read those books three times over in three days.
Reading other people’s secrets can make your own seem not so bad. It might give you the courage to do something about your own secret. It might make you laugh, cry, and thank God you don’t have any secrets (or not, if you’re atheist). A lot of these secrets can make your burden feel… lighter. A lot of them might even help you with what you’re struggling with in life. This is a great book – its moving and so… powerful.
Bottom Line: Great book filled with the secrets of America. It can make you laugh, cry, smile, and most importantly, it shows us we are not alone in our secrets.
Pages: 144
Published: January 1, 2007
Genre: Non-Fiction
So, this week I went down to DC to visit my older brother. Seeing as I’m incapable of doing anything in the real world, I decided not to check a bag for the flight and just do the whole ‘two carry ons’ thing. So, of course, with the clothes and other items necessary for my four day trip there wasn’t much room left for my library books. Consequently, I found myself perusing my brother’s rather limited bookshelves when I got down to his condo. What I found? A lot of books on WWII, business, and then… a gold mine.
My brother owns three of the four PostSecret books compiled by Frank Warren. These are books filled with secrets people have sent in, anonymously, to Frank. Some of them were disturbing – like, OMFG. Others were funny, sad, cute, uplifting… It was a book loaded with emotion. It was a quick read, and also a pretty one seeing as the book is done in an artsy fashion – like a collage. I’ve read the books he owns twice now. What is so compelling about these people secrets? Some of them are the same as yours.
Sometimes we feel very alone – that our burden is too much to carry, our secrets too heavy for us too bear. We don’t have the courage to tell anyone, yet the silence is suffocating. When I read these people’s secrets, I think of my own – and I feel better. I also feel connected. We are not alone in our secrets, humiliations, fears, desires. Even if no one shares your secret in the entire book, there are so many secrets out there suffocating people and starving them of life. You look around and you say – these are the secret thoughts of America. It’s enlightening, scary, saddening. But it’s a touch to your soul. I don’t even know how to describe it. I’ve read those books three times over in three days.
Reading other people’s secrets can make your own seem not so bad. It might give you the courage to do something about your own secret. It might make you laugh, cry, and thank God you don’t have any secrets (or not, if you’re atheist). A lot of these secrets can make your burden feel… lighter. A lot of them might even help you with what you’re struggling with in life. This is a great book – its moving and so… powerful.
Bottom Line: Great book filled with the secrets of America. It can make you laugh, cry, smile, and most importantly, it shows us we are not alone in our secrets.
Pages: 144
Published: January 1, 2007
Genre: Non-Fiction
December 24, 2015
Some of these secrets just broke my heart. This one was from Montana: "I have a suicide prevention hotline programmed in my cell phone under the name 'Erin.'"
Everyone is surviving something.
Everyone is surviving something.
October 30, 2008
I believe I new about these books (and website)in the back of my brain but never looked them up, but on my way out of the mall today via barns and noble I stopped by the art/graphic design books and this caught my eye and I proceeded to read the whole thing sitting in the store. very cool concept, very moving because we all have THAT secret or two.
the one that made me cry (in public) went something like this...
"I through dirt clods at the tiny chick, killing it, because I new my mother would never let me keep it.
having that tiny life on my hands still haunts me to this day."
I am not sure it's exact but close. I really liked this book and I believe I will be a new fan of the website.
the one that made me cry (in public) went something like this...
"I through dirt clods at the tiny chick, killing it, because I new my mother would never let me keep it.
having that tiny life on my hands still haunts me to this day."
I am not sure it's exact but close. I really liked this book and I believe I will be a new fan of the website.
March 2, 2009
I continue to enjoy the PostSecret books. This is my third one to read recently. Poignant, funny, sad--a quick glimpse into the lives of strangers. (Some visitors to my church last week shared with me that they really liked the spoken "Joys and Concerns" portion of our service, because it allowed them to get to know something about the congregation, eventhough the people who spoke were strangers to them. It's similar to this, I think.) Some of my favorites in this book:
*I was crooked. They straightened me. Now I'm limited. I'll never be able to dance the same way.
*I occupy the empty side of my bed with random stuff so at night I feel like I'm sleeping next to someone.
*Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world.
*I have a suicide prevention hotline programmed into my cell phone under the name "Erin."
*To save time in the morning, I always put my kids to bed with clothes, shoes and socks on!
*I was crooked. They straightened me. Now I'm limited. I'll never be able to dance the same way.
*I occupy the empty side of my bed with random stuff so at night I feel like I'm sleeping next to someone.
*Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world.
*I have a suicide prevention hotline programmed into my cell phone under the name "Erin."
*To save time in the morning, I always put my kids to bed with clothes, shoes and socks on!
May 27, 2009
I spent an afternoon in the bookstore and picked this up to peruse. It is a true "coffee table book" and can be read easily in a short period of time. The gist: the author left stacks of post cards around and about with a note asking folks to mail him the card containing an anonymous secret. He got most of them back and this book is a collection of those secrets. One woman confessed that during her marriage, she ground up sleeping pills and put them in her husband's food so he would leave her alone! LOL, except she said it never worked. Darn the bad luck. A most disturbing confession was the person who admitted the he/she contemplated suicide all the time and if we really knew why, we would want him/her dead, too. Hmmmm.
December 13, 2008
This is my favorite of the PostSecret books. I like it just a tiny bit more than the other PostSecret books for a couple of reasons.
#1 The book covers look and feel as it they were wrapped in a brown paper bag. That is very unusual and appealing to me. It reminds me of when I was in grade school and had to have my textbooks covered and my mom would cover them with brown paper bags and I could decorate them myself.
#2 There are a lot of really funny confessions in this book.
#3 The postcard with the "Top ten reasons I prefer attending funerals over weddings"
I really adore this book.
#1 The book covers look and feel as it they were wrapped in a brown paper bag. That is very unusual and appealing to me. It reminds me of when I was in grade school and had to have my textbooks covered and my mom would cover them with brown paper bags and I could decorate them myself.
#2 There are a lot of really funny confessions in this book.
#3 The postcard with the "Top ten reasons I prefer attending funerals over weddings"
I really adore this book.
October 15, 2010
Perhaps it is my age that made me enjoy this one more than My Secret: A PostSecret Book, which focused on the secrets of high school and college students. Here were secrets of adults dealing with their adult lives, whether they are alone or married or wishing they weren't married. There were a few postcards that really struck a chord with me and some that made me laugh out loud. It was interesting that Frank Warren states that women have more interesting secrets than men, because there were a few secrets from men that were pretty darn interesting...
August 19, 2015
Not my favorite of the PostSecret books. This one felt short, and the secrets not as riveting -- in other PS books, the secrets ran the emotional gamut, from hilarious to heart-wrenching, but in this one, they just kind of bounced around at the midline. Still, as a collection of secrets, it doesn't disappoint, and there were a few that made me smile (the woman with the red flannel shirt on the back of the bedroom door that reminds her of MacGuyver when she has sex) and a few that hurt (the person who killed a baby chick when she was seven in fear his/her mother would not let him/her keep it) and some that made me think, "This is me."
January 24, 2012
I absolutely love the PostSecret books by Frank Warren. All these books really make you think. They make you feel like you're not alone in this world and that you aren't the only one with fears, phobias, and secrets.
I am really hoping for more of these books and I highly suggest Frank Warren's PostSecret books to everyone.
I am really hoping for more of these books and I highly suggest Frank Warren's PostSecret books to everyone.
August 27, 2013
You wont believe the secrets you will read!
It was a great book!
It was a great book!
May 27, 2024
Heartbreaking. 4.7 stars
September 6, 2019
(Review from 2015.)
The second best PostSecret book. This volume is as sad, funny, alarming and urgent as the original book. The postcards in this well-designed collection fill all the available space on each page, whether two to a page, one per page or one per every two pages. Interludes between postcards are minimal and do not detract from the secrets. I found myself turning pages to read the next one even when I was running late and needed to put the book down. One could read just this volume and get a full sense of the best of what this project has to offer.
This book feels more aligned with the sincerity of the project than some of the later books, which feel as though people are using PostSecret for other reasons (proselytization, shaming or to get noticed) than the purer reasons that catapulted the project to fame (commiseration, soul-bearing and catharsis, both laughing and crying). Many of these secrets felt like a revelation to the person writing them, rather than the targeted or rhetorical text that later was sent in to the project.
Despite the title, I wouldn't say that the contents of this book are any more or less focused on gender-specific topics or relationship issues than other books in the series.
---
Ranking of the PostSecret books:
(1) PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (2005)
(2) The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(3) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(4) PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God (2009)
(5) My Secret: A PostSecret Book (2006)
(6) The World of PostSecret (2014)
The second best PostSecret book. This volume is as sad, funny, alarming and urgent as the original book. The postcards in this well-designed collection fill all the available space on each page, whether two to a page, one per page or one per every two pages. Interludes between postcards are minimal and do not detract from the secrets. I found myself turning pages to read the next one even when I was running late and needed to put the book down. One could read just this volume and get a full sense of the best of what this project has to offer.
This book feels more aligned with the sincerity of the project than some of the later books, which feel as though people are using PostSecret for other reasons (proselytization, shaming or to get noticed) than the purer reasons that catapulted the project to fame (commiseration, soul-bearing and catharsis, both laughing and crying). Many of these secrets felt like a revelation to the person writing them, rather than the targeted or rhetorical text that later was sent in to the project.
Despite the title, I wouldn't say that the contents of this book are any more or less focused on gender-specific topics or relationship issues than other books in the series.
---
Ranking of the PostSecret books:
(1) PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (2005)
(2) The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(3) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(4) PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God (2009)
(5) My Secret: A PostSecret Book (2006)
(6) The World of PostSecret (2014)
September 16, 2007
I'm a fan of the PostSecret website and I knew there were associated books. But until I saw this one sitting on a cart behind the library circulation desk, I never thought about checking them out at the library...duh! On a whim, I checked it out.
If you already check the site daily, this book is just a collection of the same things. Secrets that people have put on a postcard and sent in anonymously (www.postsecret.com if you're interested). Some are pretty funny, like the one who says her "favorite movie is Reservoir Dogs, but since she's a mother of 3 she tells everyone it's Steel Magnolias." Or the secret by the person who complains about their dark brown kitchen floors out loud but likes them since she hasn't mopped her floor in five years.
Others are really sad. Some are joyous, and some are disturbing. Some of the postcards in this collection were familiar from the site, but there were others I hadn't remembered seeing.
The PostSecret concept encourages people to let go of whatever secrets their keeping inside. People have said that seeing their own secret, seeing someone else's, or just the act of sending one is serves as a catalyst to relieve them of whatever burden they may have been holding onto. For me, I enjoy the voyeurism and the thought that if I want to share my secrets, I'm not the only one.
Great for coffee table book material or just a quick look through. If you're interested in the site, the link is above and it updates every Sunday.
If you already check the site daily, this book is just a collection of the same things. Secrets that people have put on a postcard and sent in anonymously (www.postsecret.com if you're interested). Some are pretty funny, like the one who says her "favorite movie is Reservoir Dogs, but since she's a mother of 3 she tells everyone it's Steel Magnolias." Or the secret by the person who complains about their dark brown kitchen floors out loud but likes them since she hasn't mopped her floor in five years.
Others are really sad. Some are joyous, and some are disturbing. Some of the postcards in this collection were familiar from the site, but there were others I hadn't remembered seeing.
The PostSecret concept encourages people to let go of whatever secrets their keeping inside. People have said that seeing their own secret, seeing someone else's, or just the act of sending one is serves as a catalyst to relieve them of whatever burden they may have been holding onto. For me, I enjoy the voyeurism and the thought that if I want to share my secrets, I'm not the only one.
Great for coffee table book material or just a quick look through. If you're interested in the site, the link is above and it updates every Sunday.
December 30, 2009
Playing off the popularity of the post secret website, a guilty favorite that a surprising number of my friends eventually confess to reading, this book highlights some of the more heart-wrenching postcards received by this evolved art project.
It shows the side of humanity that acknowledges the many hurts, challenges and sadness within modern society. Post Secret is great because it's a powerful postcard billboard of pure humanism in an age where modern humanism is transforming into anti-humanism, our religious institutions are almost entirely philosophically confused or tactically impotent, and technology is making us more anonymous, meaningless and fundamentally lonely as time goes on.
Post Secret, and this fabulous picture book, reminds us that the best stories are those hidden within one another, found deep beneath the shyness, humility and plainness of your neighbor. I greatly enjoyed the book, as I do the website, but felt as though the book needed something more, perhaps an essay or two to extend the book from a simple recitation of pictures one can already get online to using the opportunity of my captive eyes to say something beautiful about man.
In that Warren missed the chance, I docked him a star. The book is wonderful though, and as a devoted post secret fan, the book is well worth the quick read and subsequent thoughts and reflections.
It shows the side of humanity that acknowledges the many hurts, challenges and sadness within modern society. Post Secret is great because it's a powerful postcard billboard of pure humanism in an age where modern humanism is transforming into anti-humanism, our religious institutions are almost entirely philosophically confused or tactically impotent, and technology is making us more anonymous, meaningless and fundamentally lonely as time goes on.
Post Secret, and this fabulous picture book, reminds us that the best stories are those hidden within one another, found deep beneath the shyness, humility and plainness of your neighbor. I greatly enjoyed the book, as I do the website, but felt as though the book needed something more, perhaps an essay or two to extend the book from a simple recitation of pictures one can already get online to using the opportunity of my captive eyes to say something beautiful about man.
In that Warren missed the chance, I docked him a star. The book is wonderful though, and as a devoted post secret fan, the book is well worth the quick read and subsequent thoughts and reflections.
May 7, 2016
Postsecret is a community project started by Frank Warren. Initially he printed 3,000 self-addressed and postage paid postcards and asked people to anonymously send him a secret. He only got 100 postcards back but since then he has received over 50,000 postcards (as at time of reading) and they keep coming in.
Reading these secrets feels intimate, the postcards are hand crafted and some are incredibly clever and beautiful. The secrets range from the trivial and funny to touching, heart warming and heartbreaking.
Reading these I couldn’t help but think that people share a lot of the same insecurities and worries, that many of us make bad choices and don’t know how to break away from them, that many of us want to change and that many of us feel scared and alone.
Reading this was like a leveller, it reminded me what is important in life, it reminded me that I am fortunate in many ways and it reminded me that I am not alone.
It also made me think about what my secrets are and temporarily made me want to share them.
Reading these secrets feels intimate, the postcards are hand crafted and some are incredibly clever and beautiful. The secrets range from the trivial and funny to touching, heart warming and heartbreaking.
Reading these I couldn’t help but think that people share a lot of the same insecurities and worries, that many of us make bad choices and don’t know how to break away from them, that many of us want to change and that many of us feel scared and alone.
Reading this was like a leveller, it reminded me what is important in life, it reminded me that I am fortunate in many ways and it reminded me that I am not alone.
It also made me think about what my secrets are and temporarily made me want to share them.
July 28, 2011
There is a world of hurting people and this was one way of trying to let go of their pain. Some of the secrets are trivial and most others are heart wrenching. Everyone has secrets. This was an awesome way to release that pain. Reading these books made me re-examine how I spend my time and how I handle people. Being in a faith-based ministry, I believe it was timely for me to read these books. My heart goes out to those who are hurting and while I cannot always be the one who brings peace and healing from God, I can love and be a shoulder. I loved the fact that these books were published. I needed the kick in the butt that came from reading them. The office politics and hidden agendas of others are trivial in comparison to what can be accomplished when you put yourself out there to be that helping hand and loving heart. EXCELLENT READS! All four of the Postsecret books are excellent reads.
Read
February 6, 2008Pretty much the same as the site, only now with a nice binding and far more secrets at a time. It doesn't seem fair to rate this (so I won't), because the content isn't the same as the concept. I like the concept, and I read the site every Sunday when it updates, but reading a whole book in one go is rough. Some of the secrets are hopeful and some are funny, but on the whole it's an artistic expression of loneliness, sadness, and regret. The concept--that people will confess to secrets anonymously, that doing so is cathartic--is a good one, and I like the artistry of many of the postcards. But on balance, the books contain more of the sadness than the hopefulness, and it's not something I'd want to pick up when I'm already feeling down. Unfortunately, the books tend to be downers at the best of times; I do wish there were more of the hopeful, happy secrets distributed throughout.
July 18, 2008
I read The Secret Lives of Men and Women one Saturday night while the Hubby played in a guys-only poker tourney. It’s a mere 144 pages with no more than 5 or 6 lines per page. But wow. If you ever entertained the notion that your parents effed you up somewhere along the road to being an adult, read this. You’ll start to feel perfectly sane. But on the flip side, it is amazingly refreshing to know that despite all of our efforts to look normal we all have secrets and quirks that make us anything but. Also, I think the thing that draws people in about these books is the raw honesty. Rarely in this PC age do you see people opening themselves up without reservation.
Most people will be quite content to check this out from the library, but I kind of like having this in my collection. If nothing else, it would make one hell of a coffee table book.
Most people will be quite content to check this out from the library, but I kind of like having this in my collection. If nothing else, it would make one hell of a coffee table book.
August 6, 2008
My favorite postcard has a heart with a wheelchair in it that says "This heart is wheelchair accessible," and the person wrote:
"They think I stayed out of guilt and pity, but I did it because he's still just as strong, smart and funny sitting as he was standing.... it's also why I asked him to marry me."
This one made me cry... my tears were so unexpected. Something about it moved me. I think it's because I used to wonder if I was capable of this level of commitment, and I realized reading this that yes, because of who he is, I am.
That's the power of PostSecret. It evokes empathy, sympathy and a feeling of connectedness to others, through shared experiences, or just the shared experience of being human... It's powerful.
"They think I stayed out of guilt and pity, but I did it because he's still just as strong, smart and funny sitting as he was standing.... it's also why I asked him to marry me."
This one made me cry... my tears were so unexpected. Something about it moved me. I think it's because I used to wonder if I was capable of this level of commitment, and I realized reading this that yes, because of who he is, I am.
That's the power of PostSecret. It evokes empathy, sympathy and a feeling of connectedness to others, through shared experiences, or just the shared experience of being human... It's powerful.
January 5, 2011
This was the second Post Secret book I've read. I really enjoy them, and enjoy the entire idea of shipping off your deepest darkest secrets to a stranger (to get it off your chest).
As I read them, I feel sometimes bad for the person who shared their secret. Other times I laugh out loud, or say "so?" where as others I find myself saying to myself "me too!!"
"I tell people I don't want kids... I don't tell them that I'm afraid of passing on my mental illness to a perfect child"
"I only wear watches with numbers because I can't read dots and roman numbers."
I also like how the cover is like a little package that you've received in the mail complete with a post office stamp.
As I read them, I feel sometimes bad for the person who shared their secret. Other times I laugh out loud, or say "so?" where as others I find myself saying to myself "me too!!"
"I tell people I don't want kids... I don't tell them that I'm afraid of passing on my mental illness to a perfect child"
"I only wear watches with numbers because I can't read dots and roman numbers."
I also like how the cover is like a little package that you've received in the mail complete with a post office stamp.
April 9, 2016
3.5 stars
The author of this book wanted to collect people's secrets, randomly, anonymously. He left postcards in random places for people to pick up, write their secrets and mail them to him anonymously, This book is a collection of some of those people's secrets.
I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it, as when I picked up the book at the library, it was large and full of pictures. Text was added in for what people wrote down. It was actually pretty interesting. Some of the secrets were sweet, but of course some were shocking or horrifying, as well. And some were just sort of neutral for the reader, though obviously a big deal to the person who's secret it was. Very quick to read.
The author of this book wanted to collect people's secrets, randomly, anonymously. He left postcards in random places for people to pick up, write their secrets and mail them to him anonymously, This book is a collection of some of those people's secrets.
I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it, as when I picked up the book at the library, it was large and full of pictures. Text was added in for what people wrote down. It was actually pretty interesting. Some of the secrets were sweet, but of course some were shocking or horrifying, as well. And some were just sort of neutral for the reader, though obviously a big deal to the person who's secret it was. Very quick to read.
February 3, 2018
3 stars
Another book in the secession of postcard messages. Our author, having started this 'Postsecret' project in 2004, is still receiving messages on postcards, photos, menus, matchbook covers and other mail-able formats. This started as an anonymous way to share a secret. It has, so far, become a 14 year journey in reading and publishing peoples most personal secrets.
In this book the secrets revealed are geared towards marriage and infidelity, parenting, work place politics, fantasies and sexual innuendos. Beyond the books, there is a traveling expo and gallery exhibit of these postcard secrets.
Quick read. Some funny, some sad, some shocking and some secrets that make you think.
Another book in the secession of postcard messages. Our author, having started this 'Postsecret' project in 2004, is still receiving messages on postcards, photos, menus, matchbook covers and other mail-able formats. This started as an anonymous way to share a secret. It has, so far, become a 14 year journey in reading and publishing peoples most personal secrets.
In this book the secrets revealed are geared towards marriage and infidelity, parenting, work place politics, fantasies and sexual innuendos. Beyond the books, there is a traveling expo and gallery exhibit of these postcard secrets.
Quick read. Some funny, some sad, some shocking and some secrets that make you think.
April 29, 2008
My favorite secret out of this book?
"I rescheduled a business conference so I wouldn't miss my dog's birthday."
The saddest one?
"Every year on June 4th, i slow dance alone to the same song...while pretending to hold the baby i miscarried."
Frank Warren started PostSecret as an art project & created an amazing phenomenon. i've read things on the website(s) & in the first book that have touched me, repulsed me, moved me to tears, made me laugh, made me think & in the end, made me feel more Human.
"Separated by routine, we are all mourning in parallel form, the same silent tragedies."
December 30, 2010
People do strange things, they want strange things, and are always more interesting for the honesty involved. Warren has created a fun and tender little pocket culture where distilling yourself down to a sentence doesn't have to be melodramatic. In a society where drawing as much attention to yourself as possible in as many mediums as possible is the norm (and really in some ways encouraged) I love the fact that PostSecret allows for an anonymous way to share a bit of yourself. The concept is perfect for people who just need some intimacy without a long-term-internet commitment, and no weird infamy just because you had something to say about your life.
February 25, 2013
This is not the first post secret book i have read. It is not the only post secret book i own. I have watched many of my friends thumb through them when they find them on my shelf, and it seems once you start to read you can't stop. here is something addictive about reading someone thing that someone would never tell anyone.
I love it because at some of the darkest points in my life it has reminded me I'm not alone. That everyone has pain and secrets.
It is a powerful collection of images. I would recommend it to anyone. Just don't read it on a bus like I did. I got some funny looks when i went from laughter to tears in the turn of a page.
I love it because at some of the darkest points in my life it has reminded me I'm not alone. That everyone has pain and secrets.
It is a powerful collection of images. I would recommend it to anyone. Just don't read it on a bus like I did. I got some funny looks when i went from laughter to tears in the turn of a page.
October 7, 2016
Astounding in its beauty.
I feel like I'm one of only a handful of people who had never heard of PostSecret. Frank Warren, who edited this and apparently a few other volumes of this project, created a piece of art that I hope to share with as many people as possible. The shtick is simple: people send in postcards with their secrets on them. Of course we never know if they're telling the truth or not but it doesn't matter since just the notion itself, real or not, is expressing something powerful.
My girlfriend asked me what I learned from reading this book. I responded that people are either very creative or in a lot of pain. Usually, it's probably both.
I feel like I'm one of only a handful of people who had never heard of PostSecret. Frank Warren, who edited this and apparently a few other volumes of this project, created a piece of art that I hope to share with as many people as possible. The shtick is simple: people send in postcards with their secrets on them. Of course we never know if they're telling the truth or not but it doesn't matter since just the notion itself, real or not, is expressing something powerful.
My girlfriend asked me what I learned from reading this book. I responded that people are either very creative or in a lot of pain. Usually, it's probably both.
April 14, 2008
Some of these are hysterical, some gut-wrenching. I was fortunate to spend some time with Frank Warren at a literary festival's author party in April 2007 and learn more about the community art project that became one of the most popular sites on the web. If you haven't checked out the website, it's worth the time.
May 16, 2011
This is such a cool book!
Sending your deepest secrets anonymously can be very liberating. Frank Warren does well in saving the sanity of many of these people who are just waiting to let go of their secrets. It can be such a torture to be forever carrying a fragile grenade all by yourself.
Sending your deepest secrets anonymously can be very liberating. Frank Warren does well in saving the sanity of many of these people who are just waiting to let go of their secrets. It can be such a torture to be forever carrying a fragile grenade all by yourself.
July 10, 2012
I absolutely adored this book. It gave a really fascinating glimpse into the lives, thoughts, feelings, fears, and anxieties of men and women. It truly proves that no matter who you might pass on the street in a days time, everyone, absolutely everyone, has at least one devastating or unsettling secret.
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