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My Secret: A PostSecret Book
The sensational PostSecret project returns with a never-before-seen collection of postacards created by teens and college students from around the world. Compiled by Frank Warren, postsecret.com founder and author of the national bestseller Postsecret, the handmade cards bear compelling and personal messages that have remained secret--until now. Raw and revealing, My Secret expresses the hopes, fears, and wildest confession of young people everywhere.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2006
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2250 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
November 23, 2015
I didn't realize this was a teen & college-aged version and had I known that I would have opted for a different version. I had actually not heard of this project but saw the book and thought it might be fun to peruse. The idea of sending a secret off into the abyss...sounds cooler than it is. Not for me!
April 3, 2021
Loved this book of secrets. I am surprised and touched by the openness of strangers about their thoughts. Heartbreaking at times. Loved it.
June 20, 2015
I got a kick out of the first PostSecret book I read. At that time it was a fresh concept to me and I was taken with the novelty of the idea. This is the second PostSecret book for me and I found it to be repetitious. Let's face it: there are just so many ways in which you can be sorry or happy or sad. You can only go through so many declarations of unrequited love, failure to disclose your STD, confessions of orgasm during exercise (I would never leave the gym) or self-hatred because you liked being molested before it all starts sounding the same.
Some of these brief notes are still touching and poignant, but I doubt that I will read any more of these; it was such a short read I'm almost embarrassed to count it here as a book read.
Some of these brief notes are still touching and poignant, but I doubt that I will read any more of these; it was such a short read I'm almost embarrassed to count it here as a book read.
December 2, 2008
I looked at a Post Secret book a couple of years ago in a Barnes and Noble in Phoenix, but this is the first complete Post Secret book that I've read.
I am really impressed by the creative postcards people created to send to a stranger. I am touched by the brutal, raw honesty that people are capable of when they are allowed to remain anonymous.
This book is really excellent and recommended.
I am really impressed by the creative postcards people created to send to a stranger. I am touched by the brutal, raw honesty that people are capable of when they are allowed to remain anonymous.
This book is really excellent and recommended.
August 13, 2007
Being a teenager, I suppose this collection was aimed at me, but I found the whole style juvenile and distracting. The stickers, the cover, it just doesn't do it for me. I liked the first one better. Still good postcards, though, of course.
May 27, 2024
Either way I’m keeping the hat.
Not as good as the other books honestly
Not as good as the other books honestly
November 19, 2009
My Secret by Frank Warren isn't a typical book. Instead it falls more into the category of art or coffee table book and generally isn't something that one reads from cover to cover. I have picked up this book many different times when in various bookstores and have flipped through it bit by bit. Until finally I decided to just buy it and flip through it at my leisure. Instead when I got home I started opened it to the first page and I didn't stop turning until I hit the back cover.
Inside this book were the secrets of many different people from all walks of life. Some secrets made me laugh and others nearly brought tears to my eyes. The postcards also filled me with hope that maybe things aren't always as bad as they seem. That maybe things are really better then I had initially thought. I am also filled with admiration every time I read someone else's secret. It takes a lot of courage to not only admit a secret to oneself....but to write it down....and then mail it.
Inside this book were the secrets of many different people from all walks of life. Some secrets made me laugh and others nearly brought tears to my eyes. The postcards also filled me with hope that maybe things aren't always as bad as they seem. That maybe things are really better then I had initially thought. I am also filled with admiration every time I read someone else's secret. It takes a lot of courage to not only admit a secret to oneself....but to write it down....and then mail it.
October 22, 2007
the ones that were too lame to make it into the first book.
December 1, 2012
My school library just got all these new books and I was like...well you know that feeling...one of extreme glee!
I saw Ellen Hopkins's Crank series and that disappointed me because I already read them. I hate looking at new books only to find that I've read them. And no, I will not re-read them. I need something fresh and new!
So I saw this book standing on a shelf and decided to look at it. I devoured it within 20 minutes.
Fascinating, truly fascinating. There are some "meaningless" secrets, things that are personal without breaking any walls, some are positive...most of them are heartbreaking; terrible things that have happened to the sender, dark and hopeless thoughts one gets a certain time in their life, some selfish and heartless while at the same time having a guilt-ridden edge to it.
I liked this.
I saw Ellen Hopkins's Crank series and that disappointed me because I already read them. I hate looking at new books only to find that I've read them. And no, I will not re-read them. I need something fresh and new!
So I saw this book standing on a shelf and decided to look at it. I devoured it within 20 minutes.
Fascinating, truly fascinating. There are some "meaningless" secrets, things that are personal without breaking any walls, some are positive...most of them are heartbreaking; terrible things that have happened to the sender, dark and hopeless thoughts one gets a certain time in their life, some selfish and heartless while at the same time having a guilt-ridden edge to it.
I liked this.
January 1, 2017
Reese Butler's foreword is really touching and the best part about this book. The rest is a bit too short for my taste and I don't like the editing very much. Some postcards are too big and therefore blurry and I think the editors use too many full pages with just one postcard, but I do love the post secret concept.
Many people say the first PostSecret book is a lot better than the second one. I haven't read the first one, which means I can't compare these two, but this teens and college students' version is not perfect, so I think there is still lots of room for improvement.
I recommend it nonetheless to all the PostSecret fans, it's entertaining and in some of these postcards I found myself even though I'm not a teenager anymore.
Many people say the first PostSecret book is a lot better than the second one. I haven't read the first one, which means I can't compare these two, but this teens and college students' version is not perfect, so I think there is still lots of room for improvement.
I recommend it nonetheless to all the PostSecret fans, it's entertaining and in some of these postcards I found myself even though I'm not a teenager anymore.
July 23, 2013
Frank Warren of the PostSecret project has released another book of confessions. Warren encourages anyone to submit to him a postcard- on it, include a secret you haven't told anyone. After receiving thousands of beautifully-illustrated PostSecrets and becoming one of the most highly-trafficked websites around, Warren started publishing them as books on high-quality glossy paper, which really does them justice. Secrets range from hairy bellies to childhood molestation, and from the uplifting to the tragic. Reading it makes you acutely aware of what makes us human. A third installment of postcards will be released 1/1/07.
October 14, 2023
Remember Post Secret? It was an internet phenomenon in the years before we all spilled our secrets on social media, and it's a powerful time capsule. I wonder where some of these folks are, nearly 20 years later.
March 31, 2008
I am so excited about this...I chose this for a YA booktalk for grad school...so next weekend I will be presenting a powerpoint with images from the book to my 'teens!'
July 9, 2010
Icky.
May 25, 2015
An interesting project and really makes you think about what your secrets are.
January 3, 2023
i laughed, i cried
September 6, 2019
(Review from 2015.)
The second-to-worst PostSecret book. The term for most of these secrets today is "vaguebooking." Other secrets are targeted at a single person, as if the creator were more interested in shaming that one person rather than bearing their soul. Some aren't even secrets so much as they are, "Look at me!" statements or competitive introversion.
But the book isn't one of the larger PostSecret books are there are some truly great secrets within. Ones that are strange, funny, sad and most importantly specific. The more specific a secret, the more meaningful it is when it touches a part of us.
---
Ranking of the PostSecret books:
(1) PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (2005)
(2) The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(3) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(4) PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God (2009)
(5) My Secret: A PostSecret Book (2006)
(6) The World of PostSecret (2014)
The second-to-worst PostSecret book. The term for most of these secrets today is "vaguebooking." Other secrets are targeted at a single person, as if the creator were more interested in shaming that one person rather than bearing their soul. Some aren't even secrets so much as they are, "Look at me!" statements or competitive introversion.
But the book isn't one of the larger PostSecret books are there are some truly great secrets within. Ones that are strange, funny, sad and most importantly specific. The more specific a secret, the more meaningful it is when it touches a part of us.
---
Ranking of the PostSecret books:
(1) PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives (2005)
(2) The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(3) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book (2007)
(4) PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God (2009)
(5) My Secret: A PostSecret Book (2006)
(6) The World of PostSecret (2014)
June 16, 2011
This book was nothing like I expected it to be � but it was good in its own right.
Let me preface this by saying I believe letters and postcards are underrated. We are shoved into this box that electronic communication (texts!emails!facebook!) is the only way to go, but I think there is a time and a place for the written word. There is something way more meaningful about getting a handwritten letter than a “whassup? hvnt hrd frm u in a while. u ok?� text message.
This book intrigued me becaues of its cover and the back postcard that gave an excerpt into the book, but I wish I had read farther into it before purchasing. This book, compiled by Frank Warren of the PostSecret project, was interesting � but also, a bit depressing. Amazon.com gives this background about the PostSecret project, and I don’t think I could have worded it better myself: “At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. Within a year, his blog was one of the five most popular in the world, and his first book, PostSecret, was one of the surprise bestsellers of 2005. My Secret is his second book, a collection of cards from teens and college students–none of which has been shown on the website–that carries the same emotional power and creativity that have made Warren’s project a phenomenon. �
I liked that it gave insight into people’s minds completely anonymously � I am a notoriously nosy and curious person so this part I enjoyed. There were even a few that I connected too. But, most of them I found no connection with and just made me ache for the author of the secret. Now, I cannot judge or put merit on people’s secrets � they are completely their own and completely unique � but for me, while I found this book interesting, I don’t think I’d reread it because it doesn’t really have much of a connection with what I’ve gone through.
The postcard I put at the top of this post was one of my favorites in the book � and something I could definitely connect to. In the end, I would give this book 4/5 stars.
Let me preface this by saying I believe letters and postcards are underrated. We are shoved into this box that electronic communication (texts!emails!facebook!) is the only way to go, but I think there is a time and a place for the written word. There is something way more meaningful about getting a handwritten letter than a “whassup? hvnt hrd frm u in a while. u ok?� text message.
This book intrigued me becaues of its cover and the back postcard that gave an excerpt into the book, but I wish I had read farther into it before purchasing. This book, compiled by Frank Warren of the PostSecret project, was interesting � but also, a bit depressing. Amazon.com gives this background about the PostSecret project, and I don’t think I could have worded it better myself: “At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. Within a year, his blog was one of the five most popular in the world, and his first book, PostSecret, was one of the surprise bestsellers of 2005. My Secret is his second book, a collection of cards from teens and college students–none of which has been shown on the website–that carries the same emotional power and creativity that have made Warren’s project a phenomenon. �
I liked that it gave insight into people’s minds completely anonymously � I am a notoriously nosy and curious person so this part I enjoyed. There were even a few that I connected too. But, most of them I found no connection with and just made me ache for the author of the secret. Now, I cannot judge or put merit on people’s secrets � they are completely their own and completely unique � but for me, while I found this book interesting, I don’t think I’d reread it because it doesn’t really have much of a connection with what I’ve gone through.
The postcard I put at the top of this post was one of my favorites in the book � and something I could definitely connect to. In the end, I would give this book 4/5 stars.
January 9, 2011
Frank Warren has compiled his secret postcards into several volumes now but this book was my first experience with them. My son gave it to me for Christmas - a friend recommended it to him and he knew this was something I would find intriguing. I did! I loved it. This book is geared toward sharing the secrets of younger people. Not sure exactly how he knew the senders age group but I can see from the photo and topics that he might have made a fairly accurate guess.
There is a note on the last page from a postal worker who says... "I just want to let people out there know that even if your postcard doesn't show up on the website, there is a hardworking postal worker who is taking the time to read your secret, and who identifies with this brave, faceless, nameless sender." And this is why I think this book is a treasure. First of all I was blown away by how creative the postcards were. It also made me realize how human we all are. One poster said "I don't feel entirely alone when I go through the postcards on your website, or rather, I still feel alone, but I feel like there are a lot more people alone with me"
As Frank says "Sometimes when we think we are keeping a secret, that secret is actually keeping us." I will be following PostSecret online and gifting these books to friends.
There is a note on the last page from a postal worker who says... "I just want to let people out there know that even if your postcard doesn't show up on the website, there is a hardworking postal worker who is taking the time to read your secret, and who identifies with this brave, faceless, nameless sender." And this is why I think this book is a treasure. First of all I was blown away by how creative the postcards were. It also made me realize how human we all are. One poster said "I don't feel entirely alone when I go through the postcards on your website, or rather, I still feel alone, but I feel like there are a lot more people alone with me"
As Frank says "Sometimes when we think we are keeping a secret, that secret is actually keeping us." I will be following PostSecret online and gifting these books to friends.
July 29, 2019
Beautiful and unique.
March 14, 2008
After browsing the book a bit on the sale section of National Bookstore, I impulsively decided to own a copy of it. The problem then was I didn't bring enough cash with me and the worst part was, they don't allow debit! And since it was already closing time, my friend suggested to have the book reserved and the saleslady agreed to do so. On my lunch break the following day, I bought the book (not caring that it is worth a pair of shoes or an ok pair of jeans) and read the whole thing after my officemate did. I would have to say it is one of the best compilations I have ever come across in my entire life. It is inspiring. It made me more human. It made me realize that despite of the pain that I experienced--and is experiencing, I have never felt more human and that life is still beautiful.
I hope the other books would be available on this side of the world. I kinda felt bad that I bought it at a discounted rate, but hey, who doesn't love discounts? :D I believe that it is indeed worth the money either way because not only it celebrated humanity, but it also finds ways to help, like what it is currently doing on 1800SUICIDE.
I hope the other books would be available on this side of the world. I kinda felt bad that I bought it at a discounted rate, but hey, who doesn't love discounts? :D I believe that it is indeed worth the money either way because not only it celebrated humanity, but it also finds ways to help, like what it is currently doing on 1800SUICIDE.
January 24, 2012
Many of you that follow my reviews (Mostly the people on my blog or that just like to read my reviews), know that I work at a library. I come across a kagillion books everyday! One day, while organizing the books from the Book Return Bin (Otherwise known as the Book Drop), I found this PostSecret book and checked it out as soon as I could.
This was my first PostSecret book and I just had to get more once I finished this one. I really loved it. I am actually thinking of startin to send my own post cards to PostSecret. This book made me feel really think. For some reason, My Secret made me want to go on some huge Art spree and just do whatever makes me happy.
So, recently, I've been taking chances.
I've been listening to music I normally wouldn't (Jazz, Norah Jones), reading books I definitley wouldn't usually (Watchmen, Scanwich, GirlLand), and all around trying to make myself happy rather than others. I seem to be pretty selfless sometimes which can put me in bad situations.
All in all, these books can really change people. I sincerely fell in love with My Secret as well as PostSecret.
This was my first PostSecret book and I just had to get more once I finished this one. I really loved it. I am actually thinking of startin to send my own post cards to PostSecret. This book made me feel really think. For some reason, My Secret made me want to go on some huge Art spree and just do whatever makes me happy.
So, recently, I've been taking chances.
I've been listening to music I normally wouldn't (Jazz, Norah Jones), reading books I definitley wouldn't usually (Watchmen, Scanwich, GirlLand), and all around trying to make myself happy rather than others. I seem to be pretty selfless sometimes which can put me in bad situations.
All in all, these books can really change people. I sincerely fell in love with My Secret as well as PostSecret.
April 10, 2019
I picked up this book at a library book sale. The elderly man next to me smiled when he saw me flipping through the pages. "I donated that book," he said with a smile. And yes, a story unfolded. I was already familiar with the PostSecret concept, but it was delightful to hear this man happily share his experiences with the big stories that unfold in the few short words on each card. It was a lovely moment of sharing and laughter. Of course, we all have some kind of secret. It is often quite healing to share those secrets somehow. Being vulnerable and open can be cathartic. Even reading others secrets can help us open our own hearts and may even help us become more empathic and kind and authentic. - Ginn, Sippin' Coffee in Sunny SC
December 16, 2018
Another fascinating Post Secret book! I love seeing the secrets, and admiring the unusual and artistic postcards that people send in. I often wish I knew the backstory to these secrets; some of them are much worse than others! I combed through this book and tried to find the best one, the one I related to the most, the one I would have written myself... I didn't find one! (I have no idea what I would put on my postcard!?). Instead, I preferred the funny ones: "I recorded my cat meowing on a minicassette and hid it in the school library on play" and "I made deer hump," (complete with photograph!).
November 7, 2007
This is a book of postcards created by teens and sent to Frank Warren, who runs the vastly popular PostSecrets blog. The secrets are moving, horrifying, delightful, universal. I loved it. I’d buy this book–and the other 3 PostSecret books as well–if I could justify the expense. The PostSecret blog is one of my Monday morning pleasures (they update every Sunday), and I definitely look forward to it. Have I sent a secret of my own? You may never know.
June 24, 2009
There is something about seeing other people's secrets and comparing them to yourself that is comforting. When I got this book, I thought I knew what I was getting into, I thought I knew what to expect. But some of the little postcards so carefully designed and sent to Frank Warren blew my mind. As I sat with tears streaming down my face at some of the secrets, I was able to look at myself and see the secrets in me and know I wasn't alone.
June 26, 2009
~I Lick the Inside of Microwave Popcorn Bags.
~I forgot to plan what happens next.
~I faked my own graduation.
~I wish the divine had intervened.
~I told my family, the school nurse, and my optometrist that I couldn't see the last rows just so that I would get glasses like my friends.
~Barely here.
~The butterflies are gone.
~The dog NEVER ate my homework.
~I once wrote a poem about you on a $1 bill in hopes that one day it will end up in your wallet...
~I forgot to plan what happens next.
~I faked my own graduation.
~I wish the divine had intervened.
~I told my family, the school nurse, and my optometrist that I couldn't see the last rows just so that I would get glasses like my friends.
~Barely here.
~The butterflies are gone.
~The dog NEVER ate my homework.
~I once wrote a poem about you on a $1 bill in hopes that one day it will end up in your wallet...
August 15, 2010
I came upon this book when I was shelving book donations to our library bookstore. This book is a compiling of postcards,artwork, and intimate statements from the senders. Struggles with sexual identity, anorexia, bipolar disorder, molestation,are among the various secrets that the senders reveal. The author started the nation-wide suicide hotline when his wife took her life when she suffered from post-partum depression. This is a compelling piece of art that I highly recommend.
January 22, 2018
This was the very first post secret book I read and I was intrigued. While I don't think this is my favorite one it's the one that first caught my attention. I love the whole concept, the anonymous factor with these secrets. It's a way to express your feelings and emotions without the open judgement. It can help take the weight off your shoulders. Some are depressing, some funny, and also some relatable. It's nice to not feel alone in something.
January 20, 2020
I am probably never going to leave a bad review for any of the PostSecret books. I have always really enjoyed anonymous confessions and secret sharing books that let you glimpse in to people's lives briefly. This was just as satisfying & emotionally moving as any of Frank Warren's other books in this series. They're, to me, like a really comfy read through of one of the manymanymanymanyohmygodsomany chicken for the _____ books.
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