Author Helene was living in D.C. working as a lobbyist when craving meaningful human interactions she puts an add on Craigslist offering to be a listening to ear to whomever needed to talk and feel listened to.

For the next five years Helene meets with strangers from all walks of life collecting their life confessions, stories that they have rarely voiced even to loved ones. It is a collection of 40 of these stories that make up Craigslist Confessional, under the headers Love, Loss, Regret, Identity, and Family; stories of immigration, racism, sexism, molestation, physical and mental abuse, drug use, suicide, eating disorders, rape, failed marriages, sex addiction, cheating, fortunes lost, sickness, untimely deaths, and the occasional stories of hope
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The book is marketed towards “fans of Humans of New York and Postsecret”, which in a way it is; Craigslist Confessional Is made up of 40 essays written in the voice of their teller, giving glimpses into the greatest heartbreaks of their lives.The essays are beautifully crafted, and the reader gets the true sense of the differences in the tellers stories and lives from one another.

However, Craigslist Confessional differs from Humans of New York and Postsecret, in that the confessions found here are deeper and darker, than the more humanizing journalistic approach (Real Humans of New York) or more gossipy (Postsecret) reads.

If you're drawn to this book by the cover, put this book down; this is not the light hearted fun summer read of strangers confessions that you want it to be. The proposed cover of Craigslist Confessional, although catchy and utter perfection for bookshelves displaying summer reads, is not at all an accurate representation of the depth of the read awaiting you under the cover. I expect many people will be disappointed by the book, not by the quality of content, which is excellent, but by the false advertising of the cover art.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy of Craigslist Confessional in exchange for my honest review.

Edit: The updated cover is a much more accurate visual representation of the stories inside. Well done. Well done.

when I first started this book - a series of anonymous confessionals of everyday people's lives - I was surprised by how low the average rating was, but by the halfway point I definitely understood where it was coming from.

what starts as moving confessions from everyday people about their lives turned into something trite, often cliche, and rather unbelievable. I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt that she didn't just make all these stories up for clout, but after a while it felt like the same shit over and over again, with a few details changed here or there. I should have tracked how many people's stories involved cheating because it felt out of hand. I mean obviously I know people cheat, but really? that many?

I also started to get a weird feeling about the direction these stories went in. it felt like in nearly every story - whether the person was male or female - the woman was at fault. either she was the one cheating, the one wanting the divorce, the alcoholic one, or she was neglectful/not what the husband needed and led the husband to cheat. like... the amount of times the person's "problem" in life was the woman's fault (or perceived to be her fault) felt Very suspect, and I didn't like it.

I also think a lot was lost in the format in which these stories were told. the author says that she took notes on pen and paper, and did not take direct quotes unless a sentence seemed particularly profound, and I think that was a huge mistake. most of the way the book is written is not in any kind of style we would speak in as, like, real human beings. it made it feel all the more fictional, on top of the stories feeling biased and often unrealistic.

that's not to say nothing ever struck a chord with me. it's been like five days since I've finished this as I'm writing the review, and most of the stories have escaped me by this point but there's a few I remember clearly. the woman whose child had a heart defect, and wasn't expected to live - but is now perfectly healthy and well into adulthood - was a moving one, particularly as I work with moms whose babies have all kinds of serious medical conditions; and the story of the man whose wife has dementia brought me to tears. many of the stories were honestly interesting, and I wouldn't say not to pick this up; there's a decent chance you'll actually enjoy it. the skeptic in me just had a few too many questions to be able to blindly enjoy myself.

Thought this was going to be stories of mishaps on Craigslist with people sharing horror stories of buying second hand beds with bedbugs or other mishaps, but this was more in the mold of The Moth or Risk! podcasts where people shared their intimate life stories. Since the setup for the author’s project was seeking anonymous confessions, most of these were somewhat sad and sometimes brutal so it certainly didn’t shy away from life’s rough edges but overall enough were worth the trip.

I devoured this book, which is pretty rare for me and nonfiction. I think it was the misery loves company concept that just drew me in. It was cathartic realizing that there are people who we pass by thinking they lead better lives than us but they are jacked up in side. It is very voyeuristic. I can understand why this book isn’t for everyone. If my review sounds appealing, pick it up - you’re sure to enjoy it. If my review bothers you, even a bit, your time is probably better spent elsewhere.