I definitely feel like I missed the point of this book. I feel as though there is some deeper message or theme that went right over my head because, though I hate to admit it, sometimes, I don't get things.

It is also possible that I am overthinking all of this and this is just a book.

Either way, I did enjoy this book. It was sad but hopeful. It was a perfect display of humanity. I was expecting to be shocked by stories of gore, drugs, and sex but instead, I was met with stories of regret, sadness but also joy and hope. (but also drugs and sex)

I felt like there was a perfect balance of sadness and joy and hope. I know this balance wasn't artificial because these are real stories and that's what I loved. I felt as though the stories within this book displayed how good humanity can be and how bad it can be.

I won't go into each story because I don't think that would be very constructive. It would just be me tossing in another opinion about someone's pain that I didn't experience. The world doesn't need that.

Overall, this book showed me the good and bad sides of humanity. It gave me some new perspectives. It reminded me of the progress I have made in my own life and the progress I have yet to make.

This book, like life, was chaotic with ups and down. But, in spite of the bumps, it is still worth it.

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A book of confessions.

There is no other way to describe this--other than to say what it is--and it was depressing as heck to read.

Seriously.

I teetered between two- and three-stars before settling on two because, for all the soul-bearing, heart-rending, revelations, this lacked actual heart.

As I write that I am still struggling with whether or not it even makes sense because how can a book full of people's deepest secrets lack "heart", right? Seems impossible, doesn't it? Well, this managed to be just that--a collection of emotions laid bare without an iota of compassion in the relay of those emotions.

I don't know if it was the way the stories were transcribed--and I realize the author was going for authenticity not commentary--but this read like someone eavesdropped on a bunch of random conversations, then offered--without context--those stories in book form.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the author was going for non-judgmental but, some of these stories were HEA-VY, so it would've been nice to see her inject some of her personal thoughts after having the encounter;just a few lines about the experience of that brief connection would've made all the difference in my experience having read them.

As is, this feels like a bunch of random, hopeless, stories where the author was more void than listener--there is a difference--and that made this a less than ideal reading experience.

Thank you to the Edelweiss+ for the opportunity to read this collection. Opinion is my own.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as i thought i would. Primarily, because there weren’t any funny or heartwarming stories (it almost felt as a dictionary of tragedy and sadness). But most of all, it was one separate story after the other, without a voice to connect them all. It’s a lovely project and idea, the themes are important and it surely makes you stop and think. So idk, really.

for an articulate review, containing everything I’m feeling but couldn’t say: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3162738437

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available on July seventh.

I was originally intrigued by this book because it was described as appealing to readers of Postsecrets. For those who don’t know, the concept behind Postsecrets is this: people write their secret, whatever it may be, on a postcard and mail it anonymously to an address. The postcards are collected and printed. The secrets range from sad to uplifting. Craigslist Confessional feels like a longhand version.

First of all, people like the author of this book are rare. To be able to just listen to someone tell a story, without offering advice or judgement, is a skill that not everyone has. It’s apparent throughout that author Helena Dea Bala really cares about the people she speaks with, and it makes the book even better.


This book is really, really good. It’s also really sad. Often, the stories not shared by people are left untold because they’re so hard to tell. The book contains tales of drug use, death, and regret. However, there are also stories of triumph and encouragement. Five minutes in, I was tearing up. I don’t often cry at books (although when I do, I completely fall apart), but this book got to me.

That being said, this book will not be for everyone. Parts of it are incredibly harsh. To be honest, I skipped a couple of the stories, once I realized where they were going. I did that to avoid things that might upset my mental well being. Even though I had to skip a few of the stories, I loved the rest of the book. It is a reminder that, even though we don’t all share the same experiences, we all share the same emotions. We can all relate.

If you can handle reading about the tougher subjects, I recommend this book.

I don't know how I feel about this book still, I may update this after I've had time to let it settle in. The stories in here are raw and mostly gut-wrenchingly sad. At times the life stories are beautiful and inspiring and other times vile and painful to read. I think the bigger reason I feel disappointed is that they just weren't this author's stories to tell and it sort of reads like that to me.