To: “frank” <frank@postsecret.com>
Subject: “it gets better”

Hi Frank,

Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if, among the sea of “it gets better” sentiments, there are people who acknowledge that sometimes it doesn’t? My failed attempt was 29 years ago and it has not in fact gotten better. I tried so hard for such a long time to get better and be happy, but every year that passes leaves me more and more hopeless. But I’ve never seen anyone express this sentiment.

Everyone insists sunshine and rainbows and self-actualization are all just around the bend. I never express my hopeless sentiment because I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s happiness. Are the others like me just doing what I’m doing, keeping quiet so as not to burden anyone else? Or am I the only one?

I feel like the only one.

I’m so lonely and hopeless and exhausted and I would love to know if there are people out there who also know that “it gets better” isn’t always true. 

~~~

From: Frank Warren <frank@postsecret.com>
Subject: Re: “it gets better”

I do get some of those secrets, I will try to post a few more. 

In the meantime, I’ll share your message on social media tomorrow. We can watch the responses you get. 

Thanks for your message.

Cheers,
-Frank

~~~

“Finally! Someone telling it like it really is. Thank you brave person!
Sending you love.”

[View 2,000 more responses on Facebook and Instagram.]

“Oh man… You are so not alone. I wish I had something profound to say.”

“Hi there, not alone. Thank you for putting what I feel into words.”

“You’re definitely not alone on this one. I’ve been trying to survive one day at a time for more than a decade.”

“Can I just give you all a hug and let you know you are seen? And I
hope you choose to stay?”

“I felt this in my soul.”

~~~

To: “frank” <frank@postsecret.com>
Subject: “it gets better”

What an incredible gift you’ve given me. You could have replied with a simple answer (which I also would have appreciated so much), but instead you gave me a front-row seat to witness the answer unfold in real time. You simultaneously showed me the view from your huge platform while also shielding me with the safety of anonymity.

I’ve read every single comment and am floored at how many others are out there feeling the same as me. For so long I’ve felt so insubstantial, like I could fall in the water and not make a single ripple. This experience made me feel like a real human person who is allowed to feel actual connection to other humans. I don’t have the words for how grateful I am. 

Thank you so much for giving me the experience of hundreds of messages in bottles washing up on my shore. 

~~~

“Sometimes ‘it doesn’t get worse’ is ok too.”

“I found ‘just take another breath’ more useful than ‘it gets better’.” And I did…

“It hasn’t gotten better for me. I’m in pain every single day. It never
ends. But sometimes I find a cool book to read or a game to play, and I’ll want to find out what happens next. So I’m still here.”

“My moto is ‘oh no, it’s tomorrow again’. So you’re definitely not the odd one out.”

~~~

From: Frank Warren <frank@postsecret.com>
Subject: Re: “it gets better”

PostSecret has shared a secret with me, over and over – no one is alone with their secret.

Your post was seen by over a million people and I know many of them found solace discovering that they were not alone with their secret.

Thanks for being brave enough to speak our story.

Be well,
-Frank

Shhh- the cover and name of the new PostSecret book are a secret but you can pre-order it now; CLICK HERE.

Braille: “I think humans would have been better off without eyes.
I am so ashamed to see the damage that I have done.”

Visit the online exhibition of audio secrets to hear a collection of voicemails from friends, parents, brothers, sisters, partners, loved ones. Some are funny, many are brief and heartfelt.

Listen here. Or upload your own voicemail, story, and photos.

Our profound gratitude to everyone who contributed their emotional voicemail, photos, and soulful story. Special thanks to exhibition curator, Savannah Morin, and the team at WordPress. This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the PostSecret Patreons.

—–frank(@)postsecret.com—–

Dear Frank-
My boyfriend knew I was a PostSecret fan and a couple of days before Christmas this was in a package on my porch. It was the most thoughtful and unexpected gift. Thanks Rod and Frank!

All six PostSecret books are still in hardcover are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your favorite Independent bookstore. Order now in time for the Holidays. 

See the postcards on exhibition at the Museum of Us.

Get free passes to see the exhibition plus a signed proof from the first PostSecret book and join the community by becoming a ‘PostSecret Partner’ on Patreon. Details

This is the first time a full live event has been shared online.
(Scroll down to the May 28th, 2024 post.) Free link to video

See the most extraordinary secrets and stories, learn my secret, or skip to the 64-minute mark to listen to audience secrets.

Thanks to all PostSecret Patreons who continue to keep the Blog ad-free and keep PostSecret alive with secrets and support.

If you are not a PostSecret Patreon member, please consider joining today for benefits like this and more.

—–frank(@)postsecret.com—–

Dear Frank,

I am the poet who wrote the poem that begins, “Fuck the poets of the past, my friends…” (Its title is “Afterthought.”) My former student published it on Postsecret years ago and it has spread to people in distant places, unknown to me until two years ago, when a woman somehow found me and told me that the poem had help her too.

I saw it posted in Germany a few years ago. So cool. Every couple years somebody writes to me too. One woman sent me two pies once and thanked me for saving her life. Apple and blueberry, crushed in the mail, but I loved every bit.

I was trying to help a few students in one small poetry class on Long Island when I shared that poem with them and today I was notified that it is a Postsecret Classic. You cannot imagine how grateful I am that I have been able to do more good than I intended to, and that I got to find out that I did so. What a gift for the soul.