PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives – Dark, Honest Secrets Revealed Anonymously on Handmade Postcards

"Postsecret" is a book of collected postcards from a website of the same name that began when a man named Frank Warren decided to combine art and the freedom of anonymous therapy. The concept is simple: you send in a postcard with a secret that you have told nobody. It can be on any subject, though most center on love, hate, feelings of personal inadequacy, and revenge. The cards are unedited and as a collection are actually very poignant. Many of the cards are genuinely sad: "I haven't spoken to my dad in 10 years...and it kills me every day." Some are rather frightening: "I stole valium from my epileptic dog." Some funny: "I give decaf to customers who are rude to me," which was written on an item from Starbucks. Some are so quirky that they reek of both humor and dark emotional hang-ups: "I take extreme measures to poop in solitude," and "When I'm mad at my husband I put boogers in his soup." Finally, there are comments that can't be evaluated in any possible context or frame of reference without being told by the writer; since that context is impossible to know, these are my favorites, being genuinely funny and mystifying, for example: "I stole your duck and took him to San Francisco." The book is genuinely touching in an odd and unexpected way. It is cathartic in that it reinforces that perhaps others have deeper problems that you do as the reader. Some of the postcard writers wrote Frank to tell of changes the Postsecret project made in their lives. In these cases, I am betting that years of therapy would have been way less effective while being way more expensive. My favorite of the personal stories was from a woman in Canada: "Dear Frank, I have made six postcards all with secrets that I was afraid to tell the one person I tell everything to, my boyfriend. This morning I planned to mail them, but instead I left them on the pillow next to his head while he was sleeping. Ten minutes ago he arrived at my office and asked me to marry him. I said yes." This is a great book that serves to remind readers that everyone has problems, everyone has secrets, and everyone has unhealed wounds. Though many of these postcards are individually depressing, the amalgamation is a true wonder to behold, and will make readers feel better about themselves. Part of the proceeds for this book goes to the National Hopeline Network, which helps prevent suicide. This is a great book, and I recommend it highly.

I'm an educational leader in the New York City public school system. This book is full of potential for development of our young people. Recently this work inspired a project in our school where students made their own PostSecrets and displayed them in their common area. These were powerful, multi-disciplinary works that attracted the attention of the community. They became the catalysts for various forums of discourse, discussion and debate throughout the school on many of the social and educational issues that the works surfaced. The school leadership was able to get a powerful sense of the tone of the community culture and climate. Since the school has a powerful practice of Advisory - where all students are known well by at least one adult professional - (they are actually known quite well by many...but Advisory is a powerful essential element) teachers in Advisory were able to design goal oriented and objective supported projects that deepened the understandings, knowledge and skills of students to increase their own mindfulness of self, awareness of others and a sense of tolerance, acceptance and, dare I say it, compassion for others. Also, most importantly, some of the students felt safe enough to express deeper feelings of alienation, lonliness, early confrontations with racism and bigotry as well as a general sense of disillusionment with the whole notion of "democracy" "family" and "relationships of love, trust and confidence" that often are the "pink elephants"...not only in our classrooms...but in the homes and communities of our students...not to mention the higher offices of government and public education administrations. This makes it possible for educators and educational leaders who truly care about improving the fortunes and circumstances of their students' lives to frame the kinds of questions that might help students face the incredible dilemmas of becomming an American citizen...or, should I say, a World citizen...in these very confusing times. Thank you to the creator of this work - and to the many individuals who supported this fellow's idea - by participating in his project. It would not have happened unless others had chosen to take the time to send him their work. It is a wonderful example of project-based group work that requires collaboration and authentic contribution. BRAVO to Frank Warren for helping us to appreciate the incredible mystery, beauty and power of our ordinary, imperfect lives.

If you're a PostSecret fan, you'll love this book! I've had it for years now and it makes a great coffee table book to flip through whenever you feel like it. The secrets can be deep and heartbreakingly emotional, or silly and whimsical. There are secrets from all ends of the human spectrum, which is what makes it so amazing and unique! Great book and conversation piece!

This book is so amazing. The concept of people sharing their deepest secrets to a complete stranger will touch your heart and make you think. Some of the postcards in this book brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could talk to the people and help take away their pain. Other postcards had me laughing out loud. No matter who you are you will find at least one secret in here that you can completly relate to. The secrets prove that no matter how different we all are, inside we are all the same. This book is nothing short of amazing and I cannot wait until the next two are available for purchase. If you buy this book you will not be disappointed. You can easily read this book within a day, but it will stay with you for a lifetime. And please remember, a portion of the sales go to support a suicide hopeline.

Ich muss meinen Vorrezensenten zustimmen (wegen ihnen habe ich das Buch gekauft): Das Buch ist großartig. Zuerst war ich ja nicht so angetan von den auf den ersten Blick eher gekrakelten Bildern. Das Projekt im Internet kannte ich bis dato noch nicht (und habe es bisher auch noch nicht angesehen). Aber als ich das Buch in den Händen hielt und damit das Projekt als "Ganzes" (ist natürlich nur eine Auswahl an Postkarten), sah ich eben jene Postkarten mit ganz anderen Augen. Wirklich jede einzelne ist großartig auf ihre eigene Art und Weise. Und vor allem so persönlich. Manche Postkarten haben mich schmunzeln lassen, andere stimmten mich traurig. Seitdem ich das Buch habe, blättere ich es immer wieder mal durch. Es ist und bleibt spannend. Die Aufmachung des Buches ist auch sehr schön. Außen ist Hardcover, was ich gar nicht erwartet hatte (ich dachte, es wäre ein Fledderheftchen), von innen sind die Motive auf festem Papier abgedruckt. Im Vorwort wird sogar erläutert, wie Frank Warren das Projekt ins Leben gerufen hat.

私は英語が読みたくて買いましたが、秘密の内容がおもしろくて一気に読めました。中身のデザインもおもしろくて、他の種類も買いたいなと思いました。人には言えない秘密からそれほどでもないってものもありますが人による秘密の大きさが面白かったです。

Good

I've got one of the other post secret books and years ago bought one for a friend who loved it. It's a quirky concept of this guy asking people to send their deepest darkest secrets to him on post cards...this is the result. Secrets displayed in a unique and funky way making every page entertaining and though provoking. This is a great coffee table book that will get you and your friends talking!

Probably the dimensions were written by the vendor, but I think I relied only on the pics... so check that out before you buy it