PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren

[wildx22]

It was definitely a very interesting idea that Frank Warren came up with, but a lot of the postcards were really repetitive. I know it shows that as humans, these sad emotions and desires are inescapable and shared amongst all these different people around the globe, but it would be more interesting if it was filled with a wider variety of secrets instead of the overly-repeated theme of friendless loneliness. It gives off the impression that most people who would bother to send in a secret were social outcasts that didn’t have people to talk to, even though I know that just as many happy and successful people have secrets too – secrets of different themes.

So unfortunately, I didn’t find it a very interesting read, but many people have loved it, perhaps because they related to the secrets better than I did; I myself just has a different kind of secrets.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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Synopsis

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 Fran 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 frailities – 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.