PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating public airing of private thoughts. . . The range of efforts (meticulous, sloppy, artful, ponderous) will astound you." (- TIME.com, "50 Coolest Websites of 2005" )

"A fascinating public airing of private thoughts. . . The range of efforts (meticulous, sloppy, artful, ponderous) will astound you." -- – TIME.com, "50 Coolest Websites of 2005"

"Humanity at its finest . . . And because of it I am falling in love with the world again." (- A contributor on Postsecret.com )

"Humanity at its finest . . . And because of it I am falling in love with the world again." -- – A contributor on Postsecret.com

3rd Place, Special Trade-Fine Art under $75 Category, New York Book Show (No Source )

3rd Place, Special Trade-Fine Art under $75 Category, New York Book Show -- No Source

Product Description

The project that captured a nation's imagination.

The instructions were simple, but the results were extraordinary.

"You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything -- as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative."

It all began with an idea Frank Warren had for a community art project. He began handing out postcards to strangers and leaving them in public places -- asking people to write down a secret they had never told anyone and mail it to him, anonymously.

The response was overwhelming. The secrets were both provocative and profound, and the cards themselves were works of art -- carefully and creatively constructed by hand. Addictively compelling, the cards reveal our deepest fears, desires, regrets, and obsessions. Frank calls them "graphic haiku," beautiful, elegant, and small in structure but powerfully emotional.

As Frank began posting the cards on his website, PostSecret took on a life of its own, becoming much more than a simple art project. It has grown into a global phenomenon, exposing our individual aspirations, fantasies, and frailties -- our common humanity.

Every day dozens of postcards still make their way to Frank, with postmarks from around the world, touching on every aspect of human experience. This extraordinary collection brings together the most powerful, personal, and beautifully intimate secrets Frank Warren has received -- and brilliantly illuminates that human emotions can be unique and universal at the same time.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060899190
• ISBN-13: 978-0060899196
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (264 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,161 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Entertainment > Pop Culture > Art
  #45 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Motivational
  #57 in	Books > Arts & Photography

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

289 of 303 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Kind Of Book, December 4, 2005

By	T. Peyton (Central CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been a fan of the PostSecret website for quite awhile. Its nice to have so many of the secrets, some of which I've seen before, in a book.
Read secrets out loud, to a friend: They're a great conversation piece. Read secrets alone: They will, by turns, make you laugh, cry and think.
The only thing I would change is that the postcards are enlarged, often taking a full page, or even two pages, of space. I would have preferred to see them closer to their actual size. You tend to lose the feeling that you're reading an actual postcard.

163 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Sad, December 8, 2005

By	P. Miller "crestview306" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read select postcard secrets out loud to a group of friends. Some of the secrets were hilariously funny. Others were very disturbing in that they revealed, long-held secrets of various abuses by and toward others, and the resulting expressions of anger, regret, guilt and sadness appeared all too often throughout the book. The boldness of people reaching out through this medium made me read their secrets with some measure of trepidation. No doubt, many readers will recognize themselves, their desires and longings, in the postcard writings. This visually-stimulating book should be a wake up call to everyone, that emotional mental health issues are inadequately addressed in our culture. The book is one step towards affirming that it's a positive and healing thing to get one's hidden issues "out there" and hopefully, examined. I don't get what all the fuss is over the layout. Maybe a larger size or format would have looked better, but then the book would've been more cumbersome to transport. The size is comfortably practical and the layout is fine, especially also since the postcards were grouped together with common themes. Works for me.

79 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique gift idea!, December 9, 2005

By	Louise (Maryland) - See all my reviews

I absolutely love the website and was thrilled when I received the book. It is unique, creative and very thought provoking which has encouraged some very stimulating conversations. I would highly recommend this book.