In 2004, Frank Warren started the PostSecret project, asking people to share their secrets with him by sending them on postcards. Since then, he's received over four hundred thousand postcards, many of them anonymous. People have bared their souls, revealing secrets they never told anyone about their feelings and their lives. Naturally, they're short, usually one or two lines since they're on a postcard. But, all of the secrets of the world can be revealed in those lines. There are stories that will make you smile, even more that will break your heart, and so many that will make you think of your own life. Some stories stay with you once you read it. A co-worker has always remembered an early postcard, "I am a Southern Baptist Pastor's Wife. No one knows that I do not believe in God." It must have been a powerful message because it's included in the Foreward to this book.

Rebecca Alban Hoffberger, Founder and Director of the American Visionary Art Museum, wrote the forward since she asked Warren to curate a PostSecret mini-exhibition in conjunction with a show, "All Faiths Beautiful: From Atheism to Zoroastrianism, Respect for Diversity of Belief." This book is the result, a small book with powerful messages.

Everyone will be struck by different messages, depending on your own life. I do know it feels voyeuristic peering into other people's secrets. But, show this book, or any other PostSecret book, to a friend, and they'll be hooked.

My favorite postcards in this book are my favorites because my father died when he was only 59. One says, "Sometimes when my dad tells me stories I've already heard, I can't help but think about how much I'll miss hearing them when he's gone. I love you, Dad." And, the other is, "If I died today, would there be anything you wish you had said to me?" College students and other young adults are big fans of the PostSecret books. They're for all audiences, but think of them as a gift for a young adult.

Religion, death, sex, families. All of these secrets have been revealed to Frank Warren, and, through Warren, to all of us. They're beautiful, tragic, sad, funny. And, they will move you. They're our lives, with the latest peek in PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God. ( )

This is the most recent of the Post Secret books, which are the result of the author asking people to anonymously send him their secrets, things they've never told anyone else. It started in 2004 as a "creative prank," but became an avalanche. The author says he has received half a million postcards and more than a quarter billion people have visited his Web site.

I had heard about Post Secret but I had never looked at the Web site or read one of the books. I think I expected them to be silly or risque. Then I ran across this one at the library in the new books area. I was pleasantly surprised to find it thought-provoking as well as entertaining. I also loved the art and learned that the Post Secret collection has been part of several art exhibits over the years.

Some of the secrets were laugh-out-loud funny, but many will stick with me for a long time, such as the woman who says her family doesn't know that she knows that she's adopted. She's known since age 14, she says, and she's now 34 and they still haven't told her. It's also very sad to see people's loneliness. One person fakes sneezes in public so strangers will bless him. Another kept a text message accidentally sent by a stranger, and looks at it at night, because it says "I love you." ( )

Bethanne Patrick interviews Frank Warren about the latest PostSecret book, "Confessions of Life, Death, and God" on The Book Studio.