as always a balsam for the soul. ( )

I like the idea of PostSecret and putting the secrets in a book is a nice way of collecting them all together. I do think the publishers went for quantity over quality though (although I realize these are people's secrets and what kind of qualities would I be looking for anyway? but I did find some of them repetitive)-- I would not necessarily have chosen every single one in here for print. ( )

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren (2005)

Received this as a birthday gift from a friend. Makes for a unique coffee table book. An interesting social experiment delving into modern-day society's hidden psyche... however dark that may be. Just make sure the coffee table you place it is age appropriate. ( )

No one wants to drown in her sorrows or enjoy others' torments, but there is a wonderous, small lifting of loneliness when we discover that perfect strangers share our deceptively unique fears and hidden truths. POST SECRET stings you with the little messages scattered throughout its pages of anonymous postcards sent to Frank Warren, the man who put together this book.

I'm obviously not referring to the postcard from a man stating he survived 9/11 and never told his family or friends. Nor am I thinking of the Starbucks employee who gives decaf coffee to the customers who tick him off.

The postcards that resonate with many readers are the heart-breaking pleas, rants against the self or the endearingly honest confessions of childhood memories they cannot let go of easily.

The simplest ones, accompanied with beautifully constructed drawings or collages, hit home the hardest. One POST SECRET contributor, for instance, sent in a picture of her dog, along with the words, "I'm afraid no one will ever love me as much as my dog does."

POST SECRET reminds us that sometimes we can see ourselves in strangers more than we can in our friends or families. It's a scary thought, but it's also a strangely comforting one. ( )