“A fascinating public airing of private thoughts—some dark, others funny, endearing or disturbing—written on homemade postcards. . . . The range of efforts (meticulous, sloppy, artful, ponderous) will astound you.” —TIME.com
A fascinating, addictively compelling look at people’s deepest secrets, told through anonymously submitted postcards.
Frank Warren is the founder and curator of the PostSecret project. For the project, which was started in October 2004, Warren asked people to write a secret they had never told anyone on a handmade postcard and mail it to him. He then displayed selected cards—the authors are anonymous—on his website, www.postsecret.com. The response was overwhelming, and the cards are astonishing in their honesty and creativity. Each card bears an intimate, powerful, or even chilling sentiment, told through handmade illustrations, photographs, collages, and other creative means. Among the thousands of amazing cards Warren received are the following messages:
• “Sometimes when I’m having sex with my wife I’m thinking of my mom...”
• “He’s been in prison for two years because of what I did. Nine more to go...”
• “I waste office supplies because I hate my boss.”
• “I am a Southern Baptist pastor’s wife. No one knows that I do not believe in God.”
• “I have to shave my toes... (I am a woman...)”
For the book Warren has personally selected about 300 postcards that powerfully reflect the unique essence of this remarkable project.
New York Times Bestseller
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.
