A History of the Post Secret Website

Everyone has a secret. Whether it's an intrinsic part of yourself, such as "I'm convinced that my scoliosis is a physical manifestations of how twisted I feel inside...", or something a little lighter, like "I give decaf to customers who are rude to me..." we all have them. It is a human condition that in away, even though we feel all alone, actually ties us together. Frank Warren sees this. Approximately 200 times a day. That's how many secrets are mailed to him at Post Secret in Germantown, Maryland.

Inspired by a dream, Frank hit the streets and handed out 300 post cards to people in Washington DC and asked them to write down a secret. Any secret. A deep seeded one, something trivial, a bad habit, a wish upon a star, anything as long as it was true and never before spoken. The goal is was to provide cathartic healing to those who share the secret and also for those who read them. A fact proven to be true on the Post Secret website where people are encouraged to share how having send in or read a secret has affected their lives in a positive way.

The Post Secret project has become so successful, it has spawned 5 books. The first was released in 2005 and titled "Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives". The follow up, "My Secret: A Post Secret Book" came along in 2006. January and October of 2007 brought with it "The Secret Lives of Men & Women: A Post Secret Book" and "A Lifetime of Secrets". The latest book, "Confessions on Life, Death &God" was released in 2009.

A music video by the All American Rejects titled "Dirty Little Secret" came out in 2005 and featured real secrets that were blown up to poster size and hung in the background in addition to real people holding up their post cards for the camera to see.

At one point, there were talks of a video documentary in which Heath Ledger was slated to play the role of Frank Warren. That project has been put on hold.

After having lost a friend and family member to suicide, The Post Secret Community donated over $100,000 dollars to the National Hopeline Network.

If you would like to become part of the Post Secret society, visit their website at www.postsecret.com or mail in your own secret, like Frank Warren did (it can be found on page 103 of his book "Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives").

Simply mail a 4x6 postcard decorated however you wish, they ask that it be original art so it could go on to be an exhibit in the museum, to:

Post Secret
13345 Copper Ridge Road
Germantown, Maryland 20874