REVIEW

Book Review: A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren

Written by Katie Trattner
Published October 23, 2007

In 2005 Frank Warren launched a blog as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous homemade postcards with their secrets written on them. The only rule is that it has to be a true secret that you have never before shared. Be creative he told the masses. The response he received was overwhelming.  

Each Sunday PostSecret is updated with all new secrets and every Monday morning, before I’ve poured my coffee or checked my work e-mail, I check PostSecret. Why do I read PostSecret? There are a lot of reasons. Each week it's different and each week I find a little bit of me in someone else’s words. Some make me cry, making me glad that I've come into the office early enough that I can cry in peace. Some make me laugh. Then there are the ones that steal my breath, break my heart, and make me want to reach out to who ever was brave enough to commit those words to paper. It’s all about making a connection even if it's only for the briefest of moments through an anonymous postcard and a computer screen or book. postcard one

In a Lifetime of Secrets, Frank Warren’s fourth collection, he says “I've selected postcards that show how secrets can reveal a momentary impulse or haunt us for decades and arranged them by age to follow the common journey we all take through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, maturity. Stretched over a full lifespan, the secrets expose the meaningful ways we change over time, and the surprising ways we don't.”

postcard twoHappy, sad, beautiful, ugly, ecstatic, ornate, simple and everything in between; this is another collection worth looking for a bit of yourself in. Where ever you are in your life right now, whatever your path there is someone else out there who knows what it’s like. It's nice to think that maybe you aren't really alone.I was reading secrets online a few weeks back and I saw one that really struck a cord with me. “We are all part of something bigger and we are all part of it together."

Do you have a secret? Share it. Let it go and know that somewhere out there someone will laugh, cry, or realize that their life isn't as lonely or as hard as they thought. Today is the day to let go.  

PostSecret

13345 Copper Ridge Rd

Germantown, Maryland 20874

Ms. Trattner works for a non-profit agency where she is thankful for any internet time she can squeeze into her day. In her free time she reads one of the thousands of books stacked in her tiny apartment.
Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
Book Review: A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren
Published: October 23, 2007
Type: Review
Section: Books
Filed Under: Books: Entertainment, Books: Nonfiction, Culture: Arts
Writer: Katie Trattner
Katie Trattner's BC Writer page
Katie Trattner's personal site
Spread the Word
Like this article?
Email this
Submit to del.icio.us Save to del.icio.us
RSS Feeds
All RSS Feeds (240+)
Comments on this article
BC articles by Katie Trattner
Books: Entertainment
Books: Nonfiction
Culture: Arts
All Books Articles
All Review articles
All BC articles
All BC Comments

Comments

#1 — October 24, 2007 @ 18:26PM — Natalie Bennett [URL]

This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net , which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and to Boston.com. Nice work!

Want comments emailed to you? No spam, promise! Address:

Add your comment, speak your mind

(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/70108)

Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.





Remember Name/URL?

Please preview your comment!

Fresh
Articles
Fresh
Comments