Message in a Bottle (or in this case, a book)

In 2004, as Frank Warren tells it, the PostSecret project found him (and not the other way around). He handed out postcards, inviting people to write a true secret and send it back to him anonymously. He handed out 3,000 postcards. He’s received well over 50,000 and from all over the world. His four books, PostSecret, My Secret, and A Lifetime of Secrets, and this one, The Secret Lives of Men and Women.

Each book aside from the original PostSecret has a central theme to it. I’m sure you can guess the theme of this book. Frank Warren has organized the secrets to zero in on the things that men and women have to say about life, love, and all the minute details that surround these things--like missing a pet cat. However, I’m quite astonished that this is only a mere 128 pages long, a breeze to get through. Surely there were more secrets out there that could have gone into this book? Warren’s received over 50,000 postcards from around the world! I’m sure more could have been put in here.

Still, as usual the secrets are fascinating, and adding to their intrigue are the ways in which people send them. Pieces of objects taped to postcards, photographs, handwritten messages, cut and pasted letters, internet screen shots, words written on envelopes, in paint, in chalk, on ultrasounds and more. Each secret is a work of art in itself and what’s more, for many people the act of sending off this secret in the mail is a way of healing and letting go. Not all the secrets are deep or heartrending. Some are shallow and funny as hell. Everyone has one or two little secrets at least, even if they aren’t that earth-shaking.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll get in the book, though, as with all PostSecret books, you really should see the postcards themselves in order to get the full effect:

Wish I would stop buying you cards I will never, ever, ever SEND.

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I have a sick need for abandonment.

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My boobs are different sizes. I’ll bet $20 yours are too.

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I’ve always wanted to be a farmer.

This is my last PostSecret book, and I’m sad that there aren’t any more. I think Frank Warren should put out a whole PostSecret series, they’re just so fascinating. Some secrets you may find yourself relating to, others may remind you of other people, and some...well, who knows? There might be a secret in here that helps to change your life.

Until then, I’ll be off to Postsecret.com to get my daily dose of secrets and maybe I’ll reveal a few more of my own (though in truth, I don’t have all that many).

NT