Catharsis and hope: a much-needed release and a feeling so many of us strive for during periods of personal and communal hardship. Catharsis and hope are just what Helena Dea Bala has brought to the hundreds of people who have confided in her, anonymously, through her ad on Craigslist. She spent five years documenting people’s secrets through “Craigslist Confessional,” a personal project which after two years became a compulsively readable Quartz column. Her book is a series of raw, urgent and heartfelt stories that offer a look behind the curtain of our perfectly-curated lives, and challenge us to treat the strangers among us with empathy and respect. She tackles wide-ranging topics, from divorce and grief to the marginalized experiences of undocumented immigrants, the formerly incarcerated, survivors of sexual violence and others facing cultural stigma. Bala has written for The Washington Post and Vogue.