Book: Post Secret by Frank Warren

Date Read: July 8 to 10, 2020

Rating: 5 (of 5) stars

I cannot remember when I first discovered Post Secret, but I suspect that it was sometime around 2011 or 2012. I remember the Sunday routine of checking the website while living in my first apartment, but I am not sure if the routine started there or was perhaps solidified during that time. I do have one other Post Secret book, which I bought on a whim around the same time, but have not really been a follower of the books. This one was gifted to me by a friend who said it seemed like my kind of thing—not realizing that it was something that I follow regularly.

This is the original Post Secret book, published in 2005 when the project was not quite a year old. It is a little funny to me, thinking about this coming out 15 years ago, so soon after the project started, at a time that I imagine nobody had the faintest idea of what the project would become. While I know there is little evidence that would support the therapeutic value of sharing a secret with strangers, especially when it is done anonymously, I think there is more to Post Secret than that. Certainly, I think the sharing of a secret this way could be a jumping off point for some, but I think the community that has built up around the project is far more significant. Over the years that I have followed, I have seen huge community responses of support related to particular secrets, and I think there is a general feeling of connectedness to others when we realize that we are not alone in our peculiarities.

In some ways, the book is no different that reading secrets on the website. The secrets are arranged mostly in groups of four, although there are some that are printed larger. The book does contain some book-exclusive secrets, as well as some older secrets that I had not seen previously. However, I would have difficulty pinpointing which exactly these were. At the same time, it feels like something special to be physically holding this collection of secrets in your hands. It is nice to have something tangible to go along with something that I have primarily experienced through technology and the internet, and makes me feel a little more grounded. Although, perhaps that is just one of my personal peculiarities.

Boris’s Thoughts: “I think I like it better when you read this on the internet. This version is awful heavy. 2 paws.”