2008 Woodie Awards
A Lifetime of Secrets shows we are all just human
John Boschini
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
What started as a community art project has erupted into cult phenomenon, and what began as a website has become a book series. Postsecret.com, created by Frank Warren in November of 2004, grants individuals the opportunity to send in their secrets, anonymously, on one side of a homemade postcard. They range from obscure quirks, painful confessions and downright depressing revelations. Many people know what Postsecret is without even realizing it. Remember that All American Rejects song "Dirty Little Secret?" You know, the one where all the young people are holding postcards with revealing secrets written on them? That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.
Over 175,000 postcards have been to sent to Mr. Warren in the past three years. He has been called the "most trusted stranger in America" and has won numerous Weblog awards. Postsecret.com is, according to New York Magazine, the third most popular blog site in the world with nearly 3 million visitors a month. Building on the success of the website, Warren has published four Postsecret books, most recently A Lifetime of Secrets. Within its pages lies a full spectrum of human emotion, hopelessness, pain, desire, elation and contentment. The books intention is to make the reader smile, contemplate and realize that no matter the intensity your life is sucking, there is someone worse off then you. Postsecret's various books give the reader a look into the depths of human psyche and emotion. It's a side many people choose to ignore, and yet it's a side some feel the public needs to see so desperately.
Postsecret is therapy for the authors of these postcards as much as it is for the readers. Various postcards tell the story of liberation having written a secret down or told it to a wife, girlfriend or husband. It showcases honesty and the liberation that comes with secret telling.
A unique aspect of Postsecret is that there is no set demographic. In A Lifetime Of Secrets there is postcard from a 10-year-old in love, to a woman in her 80s remembering her husband. There is no focus on young people or those going through midlife crises. It shows that regardless of age, gender or social status there is hope and joy in every life, and that there is no shame in coming to grips with one's shortcomings.
Over 175,000 postcards have been to sent to Mr. Warren in the past three years. He has been called the "most trusted stranger in America" and has won numerous Weblog awards. Postsecret.com is, according to New York Magazine, the third most popular blog site in the world with nearly 3 million visitors a month. Building on the success of the website, Warren has published four Postsecret books, most recently A Lifetime of Secrets. Within its pages lies a full spectrum of human emotion, hopelessness, pain, desire, elation and contentment. The books intention is to make the reader smile, contemplate and realize that no matter the intensity your life is sucking, there is someone worse off then you. Postsecret's various books give the reader a look into the depths of human psyche and emotion. It's a side many people choose to ignore, and yet it's a side some feel the public needs to see so desperately.
Postsecret is therapy for the authors of these postcards as much as it is for the readers. Various postcards tell the story of liberation having written a secret down or told it to a wife, girlfriend or husband. It showcases honesty and the liberation that comes with secret telling.
A unique aspect of Postsecret is that there is no set demographic. In A Lifetime Of Secrets there is postcard from a 10-year-old in love, to a woman in her 80s remembering her husband. There is no focus on young people or those going through midlife crises. It shows that regardless of age, gender or social status there is hope and joy in every life, and that there is no shame in coming to grips with one's shortcomings.
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