Such a clever idea for a book. But, ultimately, it just didn’t work for me. First, the categories that divided the stories I presume were meant to provide structure, but I think mixing them up like a well cultivated mixed tape would have been more appealing to me. And, of course, the stories were hit and miss.

This was a really interesting read, the stories were interesting and it's amazing what can be confessed when you're anonymous. It was a well done read and I enjoyed reading this.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Gallery Books and author Helena Dea Bala for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

What an awesome, awesome idea. Craigslist Confessional is pure genius. This book allows you a glimpse into 40 different people’s lives, you just have to be willing to listen. This is a wee bit depressing, but also revealing; and aren’t people’s deepest confessions on the dark side? This was a super easy read and it was nice to pick up off and on. The multiple short stories make it super quick to get through. This is a lesson in listening to HEAR what the person is saying, not listening to then glaze over everything they just said to talk about yourself.

Thank you to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

"Craiglist Confessional" reminds us of the important idea that every person has a story. At times, the story is one of success and victory. Other times, the story is one of life going in a downward spiral. In some situations, the story is combination of both.

Helena Dea Bala reminds us of the power of listening. She displays that individuals want to tell their stories - they just need someone to be willing to listen without judgment.

An education is available to all of us to hear the story of others.
Take the time to read and learn the stories of these individuals.
This will inspire you to be a listener and learn of those around you.

If you enjoy Post Secret and Humans of New York you will love this. This book albeit depressing was an entertaining view into a forty different peoples lives and their lifechanging incidents broke into 5 sections. Since the sections are so short it's hard to "disappear" into the book..

Perhaps Craigslist Confessional by Helena Des Bala isn’t the right book to read during isolation if you’re an empath? If you’re looking for uplifting, this isn’t it. If you like reading Humans of New York, this is for you. It’s simplifying to say that this is a book of bummers - lots of drugs, cheating, unhappiness, but that’s the nature of confessions, isn’t it? You don’t need to confess when you’re happy and things are going great. Be kind, especially now. You never know what someone is going through.

A TRAGIC CANVAS OF AMERICAN MORAL & EXISTENTIAL SQUALOR

I liked the idea behind the Craigslist Confessional and loved the book cover. While not all stories were captivating—some stories were rather tame, or just tepid, and we all know Craigslist is the land of the shameless and the outrageous— many were quite powerful and offered a worthy panorama of human experience.

The book is a slow burner. I wasn't grabbed by the first few stories, but I found myself swept away gradually, by a canvas of tragic lives that confirmed Tolstoy's view that most people live lives of quiet desperation. Many stories are very touching and leave you rooting for their protagonists. Others creep you out. A few are a bit unclear and hard to follow, and I wondered why they weren't left out or better line-edited.

Turns out that America suffers from rampant depression and deep-rooted addiction: alcoholism, drugs, sex, PTSD. Men don't get enough sex in their marriages after the babies are born and look for it in all the wrong places. destroying their families for the high of feeling alive again, which they live to regret; the economic instability destroys even the most successful businesses and shatters even the most perfect families; at the same time, the system gives little chance to kids coming from poverty, regardless if they are black or white; surviving life in America is often harder than surviving life in prison; new moms kill their newborns by negligence and keep having and killing more, without an ounce of guilt, other women have affairs while pregnant by their husbands; the nice man you marry may be gay or the worst sexual pervert who has just moved from another state where he had wrecked the life of one or several ex-wives.; students become prostitutes to finance their drug addiction. Only merit-based immigrants with high IQ, arrived on student visas, seem to enjoy the American dream in the safe haven of academia, though life is little more than just survival even for them... For the rest-- sky is the limit when it comes to pain and trouble.

What I liked the most about the book was the return to pure storytelling, which is very refreshing in a literary market plagued and stifled by the compulsory rule of show-don't-tell that makes today's fiction read like a predictable day-time drama, described by a TV camera mounted inside and outside the characters. I wish Simon and Schuster and other big publishers would free contemporary fiction of the straitjacket imposed by all the creative writing gurus and re-allow plain storytelling "rights" in literature. Why only grant them to anonymous Craigslist writers of moderate talent? Pure storytelling has survived for thousands of years on its own merits!

What I liked the least about the book was the price point, at least 10 dollars higher than what would be reasonable, especially once half the country is going to go bankrupt because of COVID-19. While I didn't have to worry about this since I received a review copy, I wouldn't have bought the book at $24.99, unless, perhaps, as a gift for someone's birthday, which would be an excellent idea,

In conclusion, I warmly recommend this book for any reader who is not afraid of dark subjects that may down your mood.

This is an honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book from NetGalley.

This was a great book! If you are a fan of Humans of New York, you will really appreciate this book. It is a quick read. it has mini stories throughout the book so it is easy to get hooked!

When the author becomes disillusioned with her career and feels like she is miserable and needs a change, she meets up with a homeless man who tells her his story. She begins to seek out others on Craigslist to share their stories and ends up making a career out of the stories that she is told. Each story is a confession of sorts and emits such emotion and heart. There is a lot of pain in the world and people have trials that no one knows anything about. I thought there definite value to these people being able to share their stories and for people to get a glimpse of someone else's burdens and trials. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

Much in the same way Postsecret and Humans of New York captured our collective attention on the stories of others, ”Craigslist Confessional” has done just the same. Each story is one from a random person who the author met on Craigslist. From the first story, I already had tears in my eyes. This book is perfect for some quick entertainment or for more heartfelt stories - it truly has such a variety that there’s a story in the book for everyone.

Definitely not a book that you can judge by the cover. Just by looking at the current cover, I expected a fluffy, light read but that was definitely not what I got! I enjoyed this book so much! The stories included are deeply moving, disturbing and poignant. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

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
.
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.

Couldn’t put this book down - stayed up all night reading! The stories we uplifting, sad, emotional, and cause for reflection all at the same time - just a great and interesting read!

I loved that the author added her own story, about what led her to write this book. I appreciated that the stories were kept in the tellers’ words for the most part, although this led to instances of frustration when one of tellers would say something like “the only options were to cheat or break up my family” while I’m reading and screaming on the inside things like “or you could talk to your wife maybe??” Overall I enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I loved Humans Of NY, and thought this couldn’t top that. I. WAS. WRONG. this was sooo good. This had me hooked from page one to the very end. Read it in one day with a toddler on my leg, LOL.

I really enjoyed this book. It is interesting to read about things people deal with. Quick stories to read as you like. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Craigslist Confessional by Helena Dea Bala.

After experiencing a much needed and random connection with a homeless man outside of her office, Helena Dea Bala realizes that what she has been missing from her life has been exactly that, connection. So she puts an ad in Craigslist, advertising her listening ear, come tell me your stories.

And that's exactly what this book is, a compilation of short snippets of lives, as told to Helena in an agreed upon coffee shop. Some stories are light and fun, some heavy and tragic, some full of longing and regret, but all are heartfelt and vulnerable. If you need a quick refresher course on how everyone is living very complex and layered lives, look no further. One of my favorite parts of reading as much as I do is the constant reminder that I need to be as compassionate and empathetic as I can. Life is so amazing, but also so difficult.

Wow! I absolutely loved the premise of the book and the stories included did not disappoint.

The author did a fantastic job of collecting these accounts and retelling them, in the person's words as much as possible. The fact she disclosed her own story and how she came to do what she does was also a great read. It prompted the whole range of emotions from joy to despair. The stories were humbling and inspiring and I enjoyed every single one.

I found this an enjoyable read. Although the theme of each was different, I didn't feel that I couldn't keep reading or that it was stilted in any way. I am a fan of short stories, so I think this book played to that side of my reading enjoyment.

All in all a fantastic read that I would definitely recommend. I hope to seek out the newspaper column the author writes online if I can, so I can read more.

I thought this was a really cool idea for a book. It is full of personal stories from people that couldn't talk with people they knew so they told them to this stranger. They were funny, and heartwarming, and some were really sad. There was some slow parts through out but overall I enjoyed the book.

3.5 stars

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the author's note at the beginning of this as well as the breadth of stories. I did find that it was strongest in the first half and then seem to paper off in quality.