Book Review - PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God by Frank Warren
Category Book Review Frank Warren PostSecret: Confessions on Life Death and God
I'm not completely sure what it is that makes the PostSecret concept appeal to me so much. I picked up the latest book, PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God by Frank Warren at the library today, and devoured it in a single sitting. As with the website and all the other books, I felt a range of emotions as I peeked into the private lives of ordinary people sharing things that they've held close for years. And reading these secrets made me realize that I could easily add a few of my own to the collection...
Thinking about the draw for me, the best I can come up with is the naked emotion, the raw openness of the people who send in the numerous postcards received by Warren every day. There are people who have spent their entire lives playing "what if" with a lost love. Others have lost loved ones and have permanent regrets over things said and done (or not done). And because this edition has an emphasis on God and belief, there are more than a few secrets that deal with age-old questions. But its not without some humor either. You have to laugh at the person who works for an atheist newsletter yet secretly believes in God. Or the person starting rabbinical school, but loves bacon. I can see some late-night undercover trips to fast food restaurants for burgers with bacon... :)
I also admire the artistic creativity in the postcards and those who send them. If these cards were nothing but words on a blank white space, they'd lose a lot of their impact and message. But the pictures add to the weight of the secret. There's the picture of a chair, where the sender confesses he was beat by his mom and dad while tied to it. There's the receipt that a guy found in his girfriend's purse, highlighting a purchase of Trojan condoms but they've never had sex together. And I just had to laugh at the picture of a Buddha statue on a toilet, as the sender admitted he meditated while sitting on his "throne". Not all secrets have to be tragic or gut wrenching...
If you've never heard of PostSecret, head over to their website and check it out. Then go get PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God for a more intense dose of what people are really like under their public veneer.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
I'm not completely sure what it is that makes the PostSecret concept appeal to me so much. I picked up the latest book, PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God by Frank Warren at the library today, and devoured it in a single sitting. As with the website and all the other books, I felt a range of emotions as I peeked into the private lives of ordinary people sharing things that they've held close for years. And reading these secrets made me realize that I could easily add a few of my own to the collection...
Thinking about the draw for me, the best I can come up with is the naked emotion, the raw openness of the people who send in the numerous postcards received by Warren every day. There are people who have spent their entire lives playing "what if" with a lost love. Others have lost loved ones and have permanent regrets over things said and done (or not done). And because this edition has an emphasis on God and belief, there are more than a few secrets that deal with age-old questions. But its not without some humor either. You have to laugh at the person who works for an atheist newsletter yet secretly believes in God. Or the person starting rabbinical school, but loves bacon. I can see some late-night undercover trips to fast food restaurants for burgers with bacon... :)
I also admire the artistic creativity in the postcards and those who send them. If these cards were nothing but words on a blank white space, they'd lose a lot of their impact and message. But the pictures add to the weight of the secret. There's the picture of a chair, where the sender confesses he was beat by his mom and dad while tied to it. There's the receipt that a guy found in his girfriend's purse, highlighting a purchase of Trojan condoms but they've never had sex together. And I just had to laugh at the picture of a Buddha statue on a toilet, as the sender admitted he meditated while sitting on his "throne". Not all secrets have to be tragic or gut wrenching...
If you've never heard of PostSecret, head over to their website and check it out. Then go get PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God for a more intense dose of what people are really like under their public veneer.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
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