Working at a bookstore, you see a lot more books moving past your vision than most people do. I remember when PostSecret by Frank Warren ended up on a main table. A big book with a cover that looked like a brown paper package tied with string. People kept asking for it, I’d point them to it, and wonder—what was in that book? I thought it was just another piece of literary fiction. Almost a year later, I found out I was wrong.

The original PostSecret book now has companions, My Secret, The Secret Lives of Men and Women, and A Lifetime of Secrets. I managed to pick up two at the library today. I read them both within the next few hours, back to back.

The whole idea behind PostSecret and its followers was an idea by Frank Warren to start a community art project in which people would write their secrets on postcards and send them in anonymously. Since that time, the project has grown so big, it’s taken a couple of websites, some art exhibits, and four books to share just a fraction of the tale that so many have contributed to. Warren has gotten over fifty thousand secrets sent to him, and I’m sure more are still coming.

My Secret focuses on the secrets young people have to tell. Yes, the postcards are anonymous, but in the introduction Warren claims those from young people tend to stand out in their passion and strength. No doubt not all of these are from the younger set, such as those lamenting lost childhoods and so forth, but the central theme is still the same: a focus on youth, the things that happen during that time, good or bad, and all the joys and regrets that fill us during and after that time.

When I first took a look inside the original PostSecret I found myself mesmerized by what people had to say. My Secret is no different. You don’t just get postcards—a note scribbled on the back of some generic photo. No, you’ll get pictures and pieces of fabric and handcrafted postcards using markers and cut and pasted letters and pictures and chalk and whiteout and all sorts of techniques used by the senders to encompass the secret they’ve decided to release to the world, or rather, people who read this book. People like me. (And maybe you.)

The book, for some interesting reason, also has a single page of stickers at the very beginning. Almost all of them say "My Secret" in some form or decoration, for use by the youth or non-youth that purchase this book I suppose. They look quite fun in bright colors and so forth, but what surprised me is that my book is from the library and every single sticker is still there. Either no one knew this was a sticker page or the people that look at this book have too much respect for what it represents. Hard to say, but intriguing nonetheless.

Here are a few that you’ll read inside this book. While the words don’t completely do the secret justice when taken away from their mediums, you’ll at least get the general idea:

I am avoiding you because you are socially below me.

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When you were in the ICU
I took your picture.
I wanted you to see
what you looked like,
so that you might go into rehab.

I never showed you the pictures,
you never went into rehab,
and I never forgave myself.

I am so sorry.

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I lied, mom. I was high when I drew Doug on my foot.

(and yes, a picture of Doug the cartoon character is on his/her foot.)

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I love my naked (or clothed) body!

As you can see from the last one, not every secret is one of regret or sadness or concerning suicide or something else. Some are positive or sneaky or downright giggle-worthy. It’s a fantastic look into the people that surround us every day, young or old, and you’ll finish the book in…well, in a matter of minutes really, the book chock full of secrets that will captivate you on many levels. It may make you look inside yourself, into your own secrets. Or maybe the next time you’re on the bus with a handful of people you might wonder…did one of these secrets come from them?

NT

Recommended: Yes