Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers
    Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers
    Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers
    Audiobook8 hours

    Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers

    Written by Helena Dea Bala

    Narrated by Full Cast

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    “Touching.” —The New York Times

    For fans of Humans of New York and PostSecret, a collection of raw, urgent, and heartfelt stories, shared anonymously.

    Helena Dea Bala was an exhausted and isolated DC lobbyist, suffocating under the weight of her student loan debt, when she decided to split her lunch with a man who often panhandled near her office. They chatted effortlessly as they ate; there were no half-truths or white lies, and no fear of judgment. Helena felt connected and unburdened in a way she hadn’t in years.

    Inspired, she posted an ad on Craigslist promising to listen, anonymously and for free, to whatever the speaker felt he or she couldn’t tell anyone else. Emails from people desperate to connect flooded her inbox, and she listened. Within months, Helena quit her job, deferred her loans, and dove into listening full time.

    The forty first-person confessions in this book are vivid, intimate, and real; they range from devastating traumas, to lost loves, to reflections on hard choices. Some accounts are quotidian, like that of one increasingly estranged husband: “I want to feel that we’re not just roommates—that we’re not just waiting for the kids to grow up so that we can move on.” Others are deeply disconcerting, like that of a sex addict employed by a religious organization and several are heartening, like that of a mother who dares to hope that her daughter, born with life-threatening heart defects, will one day walk down the aisle: “Sometimes you need to have the audacity to believe that it will all be okay, that it is okay to have the same kinds of dreams as everyone else.”

    In its complex portrayal of the common human experience, Craigslist Confessional challenges us to explore the depths of our vulnerability and expand the borders of our empathy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 7, 2020
    ISBN9781797107837
    Author

    Helena Dea Bala

    Helena Dea Bala immigrated to the United States as a child. To make ends meet during those difficult first years, she helped her mother clean houses on the weekends. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University and worked to become a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, DC. After her day job left her feeling disconnected and unfulfilled, she deferred her student loans, applied for a credit card, and gave herself one year—one year to just listen. Five years in, she now does Craigslist Confessional full time. Find out more at CraigslistConfessional.com.

    Related to Craigslist Confessional

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The State Of Feminism

      Jan 22, 2021

      The State Of Feminism
      1 min read

    • Article

      Love Stories

      Jan 19, 2021

      Love Stories
      5 min read

    • Article

      Being Elliot Page

      Jun 2, 2022

      Being Elliot Page
      16 min read

    • Article

      Finding The Words

      Jun 3, 2023

      Finding The Words
      5 min read

    • Article

      Lindsay Hunter Is Redrawing the Boundaries of Crime Fiction

      Jan 18, 2024

      "I believe in breaks, in fallow periods, in getting one’s bearings. But reading is my constant. I feel bereft in those brief moments between books." The post Lindsay Hunter Is Redrawing the Boundaries of Crime Fiction appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Finding The Words

      Jun 2, 2023

      Finding The Words
      5 min read

    • Article

      the MAN SHOW

      Aug 3, 2023

      the MAN SHOW
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Spectrum of Love

      Aug 28, 2020

      The Spectrum of Love
      8 min read

    • Article

      Can A Medium Cure Grief?

      Feb 6, 2022

      Can A Medium Cure Grief?
      7 min read

    • Article

      I Killed My Wife. Now I Want to Help Prevent Domestic Violence.

      Oct 4, 2019

      “If I could save one man from doing what I did, then I will have found a calling for my final years.”

      6 min read

    • Article

      My Existence Is No Longer Up For Debate

      Aug 26, 2022

      It’s the early hours of the morning at a festival and I’m vibing to some music whilst nursing my night cap. I feel truly at peace. A rare feeling indeed. But my calm bubble is broken when a family friend not so subtly segues the conversation onto “th

      2 min read

    • Article

      A New Chapter

      Oct 13, 2022

      A New Chapter
      11 min read

    • Article

      Final Determination

      May 10, 2023

      Living people get a lot wrong about the After Life. It isn’t binary Heaven or Hell but a spectrum where most people end up somewhere better than their Earthly life. There’s also a state of Abeyance where you stay if you have unfinished business. For

      12 min read

    • Article

      Josef Salvat.

      May 21, 2020

      Josef Salvat.
      7 min read

    • Article

      The SHAME Game

      Dec 16, 2021

      The SHAME Game
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Craigslist Confessional

    4/5

    59 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The concept was interesting and it is sad that there are so many people in the world who feel like they can't share their deepest secrets with loved ones. I'm glad those that participated in this project were willing to share their stories with us. I noticed many of them were sexually abused or violated in some way. That in itself broke my heart even more
    • 5/5
      I've never finished an audio book this quickly! The whole production was amazing. All these little stories drove my emotions up and down. They are all very inspiring. I hope the author can make this a series. I love this so much!
    • 5/5
      I listened to this book firing work and absolutely loved it. I felt like so learned so much about people and their individual circumstances. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book a lot. It was nice to hear other people’s stories and problems written out. It’s even more amazing that the author went out of her way to be the outlet for those who needed to just talk and get it out!