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Reviews
Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers by Helena Dea Bala
mlinder18's review
Although I appreciate every person who contributed their stories to this project, the book lacked guidance and clarity. The stories felt disjointed and it was missing the authors voice in between stories. No point in continuing for me.
bookedupgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Every stranger in this book left their mark on the world, their story existed, they were
baeyle's review against another edition
2.0
The stories themselves were alright. There were a few that were almost identical to each other and a few that really stood out. Basically the stories that are listed on in the synopsis or introduction are the interesting ones, which makes this book out to be full of interesting stories, but most of them were fairly common.
bookdinosaur20's review against another edition
4.0
4.5⭐️
Always great to talk to someone and feel heard.
Always great to talk to someone and feel heard.
courtthebookgirl's review against another edition
If you’ve read my reviews long enough, you know I don’t write negative ones or trash an author’s work, even if I really don’t like it. Suffice it to say that this one did not live up to the hype for me. It felt unnecessarily exploitative and, honestly, I question the veracity of many of the stories. I’d do trigger warnings, but it is obvious from the type of book it is that TWs will abound. I wish I could say some nice things here, but as always, if this seems like your cup of tea, please don’t avoid it on my behalf. I know lots of people who loved it. I just wasn’t one of them.
I’ll leave it unrated on GR so as not to bring down the overall score.
I’ll leave it unrated on GR so as not to bring down the overall score.
juliescalzo's review against another edition
3.0
I heard about this book on a book podcast this summer, and I was so excited about it. Mainly, because it was compared to Dear Sugar, which is one of my all time favorites. I’m sad to admit that it didn’t live up to my expectations.
What I liked: The stories were interesting, and they are all about real people. The other put an ad out on Craigslist with the text “tell me about yourself” and got response after response. After listening to many people, she decided to write down their stories- anonymously. The stories are raw and emotional and show humanity at its most tender.
What I didn’t like: The majority of the stories are very sad. This is a book that you definitely need to be in the right headspace to read. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel; there’s just a tunnel. Which is sometimes the truth, but it can be hard to read about. Because of the structure of this, I also didn’t emotionally connect to any characters. I think what distinguishes Dear Sugar from this is that Cheryl Strayed uses her own experience/stories to respond to strangers’ stories/questions. This is purely stranger’s sad stories. I have discovered that, as a reader, I need to connect to the characters/people I read about. And the format of this didn’t allow that for me.
Overall, I’d say if you like real people’s stories- particularly sad/tragic/unusual ones, this is worth reading. I’d definitely recommend this as a library check out because I don’t think you’d want to read it more than once.
What I liked: The stories were interesting, and they are all about real people. The other put an ad out on Craigslist with the text “tell me about yourself” and got response after response. After listening to many people, she decided to write down their stories- anonymously. The stories are raw and emotional and show humanity at its most tender.
What I didn’t like: The majority of the stories are very sad. This is a book that you definitely need to be in the right headspace to read. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel; there’s just a tunnel. Which is sometimes the truth, but it can be hard to read about. Because of the structure of this, I also didn’t emotionally connect to any characters. I think what distinguishes Dear Sugar from this is that Cheryl Strayed uses her own experience/stories to respond to strangers’ stories/questions. This is purely stranger’s sad stories. I have discovered that, as a reader, I need to connect to the characters/people I read about. And the format of this didn’t allow that for me.
Overall, I’d say if you like real people’s stories- particularly sad/tragic/unusual ones, this is worth reading. I’d definitely recommend this as a library check out because I don’t think you’d want to read it more than once.
barnes_and_noel's review against another edition
3.0
This was my first non-fiction of the year! I was very intrigued by the premise, and was curious what sorts of things people would tell to a stranger. I enjoyed this one but it got super heavy at times, with topics ranging from addiction of different sorts, to miscarriage, to dissolving families. However, there were also some stories of hope and love and acceptance. I liked that each story was written in each person’s manner of speech, and how it added to the individualism of each story. I liked this book overall, it was just more sad than I was expecting. If you’re a fan of the Humans of New York series, you’ll probably like this!
dai2daireader's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating, yet sometimes hard to listen to, collection of stories about the lives of everyday people. These real life stories were so open, honest and, at times, relatable. This collection of stories helps you appreciate the diversity and complexity in all of us and that we all just want to be heard.
eekgranola's review
2.0
Might have loved this some other time? Too sad and didn’t love the writing. Lots of real life, if that’s what you’re into. Might be better in audio?