The Bottom Line:
This makes a great coffee table book!
Overall Rating:
Author's Review
In 2004 Frank Warren began a community art project by sending out 3,000 postcards to strangers asking them to write their anonymous secrets and send them back. About 100 returned to him but when he posted them online he started a revolution that hasn't slowed down in the form of postsecret.com.
The Secret Lives of Me and Women is a collection of postcards all of which are very creative, some handmade, some elaborate and others simply a sentence or two on a plain white backing. The book itself is about 15 inches long with glossy pages that display the postcards. The photos are clear and the messages are very easy to read, some taking up one or more pages.
Below are some my favorite secrets that can be found in the book:
Reservoir Dogs is my favorite movie. But since I am a married mother of 3 I tell everyone it's Steel Magnolias.
Everyday on my way to work I contemplate driving past it and never coming back.
You want to know a secret? The nicest thing you ever did for me was Leave. So good riddance and good luck finding a new doormat.
I tell people that I don't want kids.... I don't tell them that I'm afraid of passing on my mental illness to a perfect child.
The Secret Lives of Men and Women is a fascinating book and I found myself being moved, grossed out and laughing out loud with some of the secrets. The book is powerful because the majority of the secrets are relatable, some talk of unrequited love, others speak of weight issues, and some come completely out of left field. I wouldn't suggest this book for children as some of the secrets deal with mature content like harsh language and sexual themes. I liked that the secrets always come from the heart, it doesn't matter whether they are true or not many of them look like they were carefully created not only to be anonymous but to express an intense feeling.
The Secret Lives of Men and Women retails for $21.99 and can be purchased at major book retailers. A certain percentage of the profits go to charity. Frank Warren continues to post secrets every Sunday on postsecret.com.