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Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers by Helena Dea Bala
l1brarygirl's review
3.0
Oof - this was a lot heavier than I was expecting. I appreciated the full cast narration and appreciated the author's note.
Pop Sugar’s 2022 Reading Challenge - A book about a secret
Pop Sugar’s 2022 Reading Challenge - A book about a secret
eeyore031370's review
4.0
This book is an anthology of stories people told the author when she asked for people to share their secrets through a Craigslist post. These are raw stories told by hurting people who have been hurt.
jenabest's review against another edition
2.0
This was the longest 255 pages of my life. I really hate leaving bad reviews (though I feel I've had more than usual lately).
I was drawn to this book because I'm both fairly nosy and really love Humans of New York and thought this would be similar. It is, but without any of the good elements! This was 255 pages of horrible experiences, where the majority of people just... Didn't have anything much positive to say or have at the end.
And the trigger warnings that should be on this, my goodness.
I was drawn to this book because I'm both fairly nosy and really love Humans of New York and thought this would be similar. It is, but without any of the good elements! This was 255 pages of horrible experiences, where the majority of people just... Didn't have anything much positive to say or have at the end.
And the trigger warnings that should be on this, my goodness.
bajebookclub's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
When I read the detailed description for this one, I placed it on my TBR immediately. I’m a mood reader and In July, I wanted to listen to an autobiography and this one came to mind.
A big part, if not all, of our life should be the ability to do what makes us happy. Helena, a successful lobbyist struggled with this (I won’t say why, go read) but in the end she felt it was her calling to share the stories of strangers who varied in age, sex, religion, class and race.
This book is divided into 5 parts after the introduction - love, regret, loss, identity and family. Craigslist Confession is a heavy one but honestly I couldn’t stop listening. Here are a few points that I want to share from listening to story:
(1) We all need love and support
(2) Mental wellness should be recognized as much as physical illness.
(3) For each of our experiences, we can break the cycle and do better for our children - we should at least try
(4) Not everyone should be parents !! I said what I said. How we raise our children impact their adult life.
(5) This damn world needs more love, forgiveness, empathy, support and kindness
Thank you Helena.
A big part, if not all, of our life should be the ability to do what makes us happy. Helena, a successful lobbyist struggled with this (I won’t say why, go read) but in the end she felt it was her calling to share the stories of strangers who varied in age, sex, religion, class and race.
This book is divided into 5 parts after the introduction - love, regret, loss, identity and family. Craigslist Confession is a heavy one but honestly I couldn’t stop listening. Here are a few points that I want to share from listening to story:
(1) We all need love and support
(2) Mental wellness should be recognized as much as physical illness.
(3) For each of our experiences, we can break the cycle and do better for our children - we should at least try
(4) Not everyone should be parents !! I said what I said. How we raise our children impact their adult life.
(5) This damn world needs more love, forgiveness, empathy, support and kindness
Thank you Helena.
tegsreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I always love books that are just stories of people’s lives. I loved the book version of “Humans of New York” because it’s fascinating to me to listen to some people talk about the lives they lived, because you never truly know what the person next to you in the supermarket or pass by on the street has been through. It’s amazing to me, too, how many people just want to talk, so they’re willing to tell their stories to total strangers.
So this book was exactly what I expected. And it was just fine. None of the stories were interesting enough to bump this book up to 4 stars, but it did what it was supposed to do and it was mildly entertaining.
So this book was exactly what I expected. And it was just fine. None of the stories were interesting enough to bump this book up to 4 stars, but it did what it was supposed to do and it was mildly entertaining.
curlyjessreads's review against another edition
4.0
I was given an advance copy of this book for free from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
If you like reading people's stories (ex. HONY) then you will enjoy this book! There are stories that will uplift you, stories that will destroy you, and stories that you are super relevant to our current events!! Each story is written after the storyteller answered an ad on Craigslist about sharing whatever they wanted to with the author, Helena Dea Bala. Based on the idea that some of your darkest secrets or toughest topics are more easily shared with a stranger who won't judge you and who you'll never see again.
This one will come out July 7th, so keep an eye out for it!
#NetGalley #CraigslistConfessional
If you like reading people's stories (ex. HONY) then you will enjoy this book! There are stories that will uplift you, stories that will destroy you, and stories that you are super relevant to our current events!! Each story is written after the storyteller answered an ad on Craigslist about sharing whatever they wanted to with the author, Helena Dea Bala. Based on the idea that some of your darkest secrets or toughest topics are more easily shared with a stranger who won't judge you and who you'll never see again.
This one will come out July 7th, so keep an eye out for it!
#NetGalley #CraigslistConfessional
vladco's review against another edition
3.0
I love books like this. The (presumably) true stories are brief, poignant, and well-told. Not all of them are amazing, but the bulk of them are amazing enough (while still maintaining their connection to the realness of everyday humanity) that I'm left with feelings of awe, gratitude, misanthropy, hope, anger, and -- ultimately -- a desire to do more with my one short life. I would've kept reading if the book were twice or three times as long.
The flaw of this format is that each story is so short, and each narrator so untrustworthy, that I never developed this sense, as a reader, that I could trust my own emotions about a given story. People lie and have agendas as they tell stories about themselves, because the ego is very much at work as self-narrative is written and shared. I was never able to get into the complexity of the stories because they were kept so brief. In the end, these are stories that were reduced, distilled, and over-simplified and reduced to something that'll work in a newspaper column. Life isn't as simple as our ad-supported media would like it to be.
The flaw of this format is that each story is so short, and each narrator so untrustworthy, that I never developed this sense, as a reader, that I could trust my own emotions about a given story. People lie and have agendas as they tell stories about themselves, because the ego is very much at work as self-narrative is written and shared. I was never able to get into the complexity of the stories because they were kept so brief. In the end, these are stories that were reduced, distilled, and over-simplified and reduced to something that'll work in a newspaper column. Life isn't as simple as our ad-supported media would like it to be.