Letters I'll Never Send: An Anthology

Have you ever missed your chance to express your exact feelings to a former friend or former lover? Or maybe you spent hours scribbling down your thoughts in ink because it was the only way you felt some, if not full, catharsis? What do you wish you could say out loud, but instead spill on paper, then tuck the pages safely away in a box, under neatly folded garments in a bedroom drawer, and bury deep inside your mind?

Letters I'll Never Send is a compilation of first-person narratives, including letters, personal essays, poems, diary entries, postcards, and other genre-bending literary works, written by women or those who identify as such. This anthology captures us in our most fragile state and spotlights emotional ties or human experiences that we have all encountered, such as grief, trauma, family bonding, self-reflection, love, regret, and more.

In Letters I'll Never Send, a woman grieves her unborn child, breathing in life through her aching words; a mistress requests permission from her lover's wife to share his affections; a daughter grapples with feelings of abandonment from her father after he remarries; a hopeless romantic reflects on her dating life and sets forth reinforcing affirmations; a sibling battles both years-long grief and rage toward her sister for her irresponsible death; a survivor grows weary of her trauma and confronts her rapist; a dedicated doctor explains her difficult departure from traditional Western medicine; among other sentimental tales. These relatable accounts in the book chronicle just what some may disclose, if ever given the "right" time and/or opportunity.

Showcasing our individual journeys and varying circumstances, Letters I'll Never Send reveals how similar our lives actually are, and how we can combine our common experiences to form intangible and resonant connections, no matter the difference in age, location, gender, race or identity.