Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back

by Alicia Cook

Sorry I haven't texted you back,  ( I've been anxious and depressed)  I haven't had time to catch my breath, you know how life gets.

Returning to the form of  Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately ,  Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back  is a poetic mixtape dedicated to those who struggle or have struggled with their mental health. Divided into two parts, "Side A" holds 92 poems, titled as "tracks," and "Side B" holds the "remixes," or blackout-poetry versions, of  those 92 poems. The book includes the evergreen themes of love, grief, and hope. Named after Cook's viral Instagram poem,  Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back lands in the crossroads of self-help and poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Contemporary, Music, Self Help, Adult

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 6, 2020

About the author

Alicia Cook is a multi-award-winning writer and poet based in Newark, New Jersey. Her writing often focuses on addiction, mental health, and grief – sometimes all at once. She is the curly-haired human behind the poetry books Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately, I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip, Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back, and The Music Was Just Getting Good. Her work has been adapted into music and dance, and has been published in a number of anthologies, as well as in The New York Times, The Asbury Park Press, and Writer’s Digest. Her most recent poetry award is the 2026 Central Avenue Poetry Prize for her poem "The Squirrel Made His Way."

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I just love this poetry collection!

The relevant song recommendations with each poetry!

I mean that's the tea I love to slow sip and savour.

This collection is for you as much as it's for me if you want to read how it feels like you are not being understood and people keeps misjudging you.

This collection is for you as much as it's for me whose mental state and day-to-day struggling through it all is being questioned and judged as our inability and weaknesses.

This collection is for you as much as it's for me if you find solace in music.
I heavily rely on my favourite NCT unit k-pop groups for my daily dose of inspiration and as a way to actually shun off all the negativity and me being misunderstood everyday.

I love the content structure. I love the writing. It's so accurate and touch my deepest emotions. I never felt this understood.

I love how creative yet simple and relevant the poetry titles are as tracks! Both side A and Side B work pretty well and so well organised. Love the concept.

I love this collection. I really want to get the physical copy of this one as soon as possible!

The book is coming out on October 6th!!!! Excited❤️

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced reader copy 💯

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry collection that tackles mental health, loss, love, friendships etc had my heart soaring and generously leaping through all types of emotions.

Be like water. Fill every space like it was made just for you, like you belong there. Track Eighty-Seven

Each poetry "track" is accompanied by a "currently listening" musical experience which as an insatiable lover of music, I enjoy. Side B, offers the remixes of the 92 poems written on Side A, a style that would transfer very well in my English Language Arts classroom.

Definitely a poetry collection that I want in my classroom library.

Goodreads review published 18/10/20
Publication Date 06/10/20

[Alicia Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

1/17/2024:

ICYMI: the final poetry book in the mixtape series came out on January 9, 2024! It's called The Music Was Just Getting Good.

11/16/2020:

Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back didn't make the finals of the Goodreads Choice Awards. Still, it is so cool to have made it as far as it did! Thank you to everyone who voted!

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and heartbreaking.

[Nai | Libros con(té) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's stability in the aftermath of instability. There's beauty in hard transitions."

I don’t usually read poetry but whenever I see a really cute cover on Net Galley I can’t resist myself, especially when that same poetry collection talks about mental health.

That’s how I ended up reading Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back. And that’s how I ended up loving it!

Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is a poetry collection in form of a mix tape; there is a Side A and a Side B. In Side A we can find poems titled “tracks” and in Side B we can find the remixes of those tracks which are basically the same poems but in a unique form of blackout poetry.

I was really enjoying Side A, but definitely Side B made me put this book on my wishlist. That Side B made this whole poetry collection way more original that I was expecting, and it was definitely my favorite part.

There were a lot of poem that really touched me. The main subjects of this collection of poems are mental health, toxic and non-toxic relationships, substance abuse, sex, trauma and grief. There’s also a trigger warning in the beginning on the book which is highly appreciated (I think more books should have this) that also lists gun control, suicide, violence, natural disasters and death.

Every poem has its own music, its song, at the end it says “currently listening to…”, and I loved this detail since the whole collection it’s suppose to be a mixtape. Also, I loved that fact that in the remixes, since the blackout poetry changed sometimes the meaning of the original poems (since it was a completely different poem), it also changed the song it was currently playing. These little details it’s what I always love to find in the books I read and enjoy.

Overall, an amazing and warming experience about selfcare and mental health and growth. I haven’t read anything by Alicia Cook before but certainly this poetry collection won’t be the last thing. I highly recommend this poetry collection for… well, anyone! If you love poetry, go ahead. And If you don’t, try it, it’s absolutely worth it.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

///////// [ESPAÑOL] \\\\\\\

”No one knows how much she cried last Wednesday because Thursday was better and, by then, she didn’t want to dwell on yesterday.”

No suelo leer poesía pero cuando veo una portada tan bonita como esta en Net Galley no puedo resistirme, sobre todo cuando se trata de un poemario sobre salud mental.
Pero estoy feliz de haberlo pedido y leído ya que lo terminé amando.

Sorry I haven’t texted you back es un poemario en forma de mixtape, tiene un lado A y un lado B. En el lado A podemos encontrar poemas titulados como “tracks”, mientras que el lado B vamos a tener los remixes de esos tracks, es decir, los mismos poemas, pero toqueteados de una forma muy original, con otros poemas sobre esos mismos en forma de blackout poetry.

Ya estaba disfrutando mucho del lado A, pero cuando llegué a la parte de los remixes fue cuando este poemario me terminó por encantar e hizo que lo agregara a mi wishlist. Ese Lado B hizo que todo este poemario sea mucho más original de lo que yo estaba esperando y es definitivamente mi parte favorita.

Hubo varios poemas que me llegaron. Los temas principales que toca esta colección de poemas es: salud mental, relaciones, relaciones tóxicas, abuso de sustancias, sexo, trauma, y duelo. Al principio del libro hay una lista de trigger warnings que también incluye control de armas, suicidio, violencia, desastres naturales y muerte. Este detalle de la lista de trigger warnings al inicio me pareció muy bueno, y se agradece; creo que más libros deberían incluir este detalle.

Otro detalle que me re gustó de este poemario es que, al ser todo el libro en formato de mixtape, cada poema tiene su propia música, su propia canción; al final del mismo se puede encontrar que dice “actualmente escuchando…”, y menciona a artistas como NF, Halsey, Florence + The Machine, The Lumineers, Taylor Swift, Mac Miller, entre otros. También me encantó que, en los remixes, como la blackout poetry cambiaba el poema, y por ende cambiaba el significado del poema original, también cambiaba la canción que se escuchaba y recomendaba al final del mismo poema en estos remixes en el lado B. Estos pequeños detalles es lo que más aprecio a la hora de leer.

En resumen, una asombrosa y cálida experiencia acerca del amor propio y la salud mental y el autocrecimiento. No he leído nada de Alicia Cook pero definitivamente este poemario no será lo último que lea de ella. Super recomendados estos poemas para todos aquellos que amen la poesía, como también para aquellos que no la lean tan seguido y no la disfruten tanto; les juro que vale la pena.

¡Muchas gracias a Net Galley y a la editorial por brindarme un eARC a cambio de una reseña honesta!

--- Reseña en mi bookstagram: Libros con(té)

[johnny ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

white girl listens to logic and mac miller, thinks she’s hot shit. a total “pick me” girl book of poetry.

ok, but for real. the poetry itself is ok at best, pretentious and “relevant internet” style at worst. i’m sorry but if you are putting the most popular songs ever at the end of each of your poems and acting like you’re so cool and different because of it, the actual poetry doesn’t even hit the audience. we’re too focused on your top 50 chart music taste (rolling my eyes at the sheer amount of taylor swift and billie eilish) and the gross ass country music you included. bland. uninteresting.

the last half of this book is every single poem repeated, but with a blackout style. it is so poorly drawn… it looks like this girl just scribbled on her ipad with an apple pencil and called it a day. it’s sloppy and half assed. if you’re going to do blackout poetry, at least put some effort into the artistic aspect.

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book of poems that lack of emotions.

I expected this book to be depressing and relatable as marketed. That’s not the case for me. The poems are overall basic. Some lines didn’t make me feel anything and the plain-english writing style didn’t help. I can relate to some, but others feel excessive with big words and not enough feelings. It all felt cringey.

“You never appreciated my presence but you feel my absence in your joints and arteries.”

“Your pupil dilated as I walked into the room”

“The cough syrup at the pharmacy reminds me of the energy thing you used to drink when we were young.”

“I’m not trying to be dramatic, but these are facts:”

“(…)the puzzle don’t fit, when they absolutely look like they should.”

“Like how I know you chew ice when you’re nervous,”

Side A was cringey, and Side B is…weird.

This had a potential to make the readers cry and feel seen (I think that’s the whole reason why we picked this up) but I didn’t feel sad or cry one bit.

[its.me.the.bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this novel!**

For me, this was an impactful & quick read. I love poetry collections & this one had a unique writing style. I really enjoyed it overall. Please find my extended feedback below...along with some spoilers (beware).
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Things I Liked:
-the way the poems were told in side A versus side B
-how the side B section were re-written versions of the side A section (very clever & creative)
-the topics that were covered (mental health, self-esteem, self-perception, etc.)
-the lyricism of the writing style
-the creative cover

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-I think it would have been awesome to have some illustrations to go with the poems

Overall, I gave this collection 4 stars. It was an impactful & resonating read for me. I think it would be a great read for those who enjoy poetry or collections with themes of mental health, self-love, & relationships.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alicia Cook has offered up a unique poetic experience.

The poetry was thought provoking and emotionally charged. Each poem had a corresponding song that Ms. Cook was listening to during its' completion. I found that to be an added bonus for the reader to assist in coming to a better understanding of the author. I was enamored with both Side A and Side B (although I will say Side B is more visceral). Gut wrenching and honest, you will leave this work feeling like you have lived through the journey along side the author.

I enjoyed reading this work of art. and will look forward to reading more of Ms. Cook's writing in the future. This is worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Andrew McMeel Publishing, and Alicia Cook for a copy of this ARC in return for an honest review.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tapes were a little before my time. I had some when I was a kid, but they’d mostly been replaced by CDs by the time I was a teenager and iPods by the time I was an adult. I’m still fascinated by the concept of a mix though, of choosing songs and ordering them with intention to send a message, and there are few things more romantic, in my opinion, than giving one to someone you love. My dad made me tapes of my favorite Disney songs when I was little, and I have every mix CD every friend or partner ever gave me, long after we stopped seeing each other. Forget jewelry. Mixes are a love letter. (That’s a lie. Jewelry is cool too. Especially if it’s neon, plastic, and came out of a gumball machine.)

All that is to say that I’ve been wanting to read one of Alicia Cook’s collections for a while, but I hesitated because it’s poetry. I can make a list of songs with good transitions to tell you how I feel, but I struggle with poetry when it isn’t backed by music. I never feel like I “get it,” and since I prefer to keep my emotions at a polite distance whenever possible, I never feel like I’m “feeling” poetry as much as I should be either. Anything that comes after my emotions with a hammer doesn’t have a chance. This book, like a lot of contemporary poetry (that I’ve encountered, anyway), is a hammer. It’s not that I don’t care about Cook’s situation or sympathize with her. I’m just not feeling all the emotions she’s obviously feeling.

My questionable emotional health aside, I did like this collection. I like the way it addresses mental illness directly and tries to give readers an inside look at Cook’s experiences with it. A lot of the poems are love poems, and I enjoyed those too. They remind me of Taylor Swift songs, in a good way. My favorites were tracks three, fifteen, thirty-four, and forty-six, which playfully mixes in a bunch of song titles. I also like the way she pairs each poem with a song, and it’s the kind of book that should come with a link to a playlist (and it turns out it does! You can find it here). The second half is cool in theory, but in reality, I get less out of blackout poetry than the regular kind. Most of the poems are reduced to pithy little slogans, most of which don’t relate to the original material. Some are hard to read given the scribbles, but that might have been a digital side effect. If it sounds good to you, you’ll probably like it, but I’m just going to go on thinking poetry isn’t really for me, even if it’s wearing its mixtape costume.

Notes on the digital copy: I had major difficulty with the format. I use Aldiko Press to read non-Kindle files, and it does not handle images well at all. Sadly, every. single. page. of the B-sides is formatted as an image. It took up to thirty seconds to load each one, which is no way to read a book. I amused myself by looking up some of the songs on YouTube while I waited, but I was very annoyed by the end (through no fault of Cook’s, of course). I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Andrews McMeel Publishing. Trigger warnings: death, mental illness, depression, trauma, grief.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

This is better than the first one I've read from Ms. Cook. The poems here are more captivating and I enjoyed the first half of it. However, I felt disconnected on the second half for some reason. I felt like it has the same context but differently written. I just find it redundant.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looooved this poetry collection, it is one of my all-time favorite ones now. There wasn't a poem in here that I didn't enjoy. But I especially loved those about depression and anxiety, whose hit deep. The songs listed at the end of each poem added another layer of enjoyment to my reading experience and i added some of the songs to my playlist. The list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book was a thoughtful touch and more books should do that.
Huge thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[leila ⋆.˚౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3✩
what an emotional rollercoaster! i loved how some of the remixes had underlying messages in them that i did not pick up before!
my favourite tracks were 15, 19, 21, 32, 35, 54, 58, 65, 71 and 83 😭💗

・゜゜・✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* .・゜゜・
2 tracks i need to give a shoutout to:

"Track Ten

Your pupils dilated
when I walked in the room
and I knew I had you.

I used to wonder what it’d be like
to kiss you at midnight.
Now we share the same
bar of soap in the shower
and I wake up in love with you.
I kiss your face
where a strip of sunlight
touches your cheek every morning.

It’s as though you’re not just the love of
my life, but the love of all my lifetimes.
Like we’ve been here before,
like we’ll be here again.
And again. And again.
Looping in a way
that doesn’t make me dizzy."


"Track Thirty

When you meet a writer,
they won’t write about you.

You’ll kiss and have sex and smile,
and they won’t write about you.

You’ll fall in love,
befriend each other’s friends,
and they won’t write about you.

You’ll binge-watch shows,
learn how they take their coffee,
and they won’t write about you.

You might be together one year,
five years, a decade; dancing together
at weddings and consoling one
another at funerals, and they won’t
write about you.

Then it will fall
apart.
You will leave or they will leave, or
you’ll both stay and start sleeping back-
to-back, because staying is easier than
leaving, and that is when they will write
about you."

・゜゜・✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* .・゜゜・

[R ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry I haven't Texted You Back is a modern poetry collection that's dedicated to mental health. Each poem deals with the complex emotions of the narrator as they try to navigate life while struggling with their mental health. It's raw and honest, and tells a narrative that needs to be told more often and correctly at that. It does a good job of destigmatizing mental health by speaking about these issues and I enjoyed the concise and to-the-point poetry.

[talia ♡]

the title of my memoir

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

”No one knows how much she cried last Wednesday because Thursday was better and, by then, she didn’t want to dwell on yesterday.”

I really enjoyed this collection of poems, but the best part of this book is the layout of the pages and the whole “mixtape-design”. After every poem (they are called track one, track two etc.) there is a song recommendation that fits the current vibe. I created a playlist out of these songs, and I enjoyed listening to them while reading the poems. Another very unique thing is the “side b” of this book, where the author remodelled all of her poems into much shorter ones, most of the time into only one sentence. She called this the “remixes” of the tracks on side A.
In the beginning there is also a trigger warning, which is really important in these types of books.
The over all experience while reading “Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back” was great and I can’t wait to pick another book written by Alicia Cook up.
(and by the way, her instagram account is full of short quotes from her poems and also really worth a look)

Thanks to Andrews McMeel and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lorena ♡ (semi-ia) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"So, when you feel the sadness lingering, remember not every guiding light will glow bright. There is a lesson found in all your days, even hidden in the worst ones of your life. Carry on, carry on."

Poetry has never hit me this hard

"It’s easy to feel out of place lately. Like you’re a day behind everyone else or in the wrong decade altogether. Maybe this is just a symptom of a larger virus. The disease of living through a shitty time."

I have found a new favorite poetry collection. Since the first poem, I knew Sorry I haven't texted you back was going to hit me hard. And it absolutely did. So many things here resonated with me and the number of stuff I highlighted and the notes I made is kind of worrying. But I just loved it so much.

"Kiss this day on the face/notice the wonder before it has to leave."

So, what topics are covered here? It talks about anxiety and depression, losing friends and distancing yourself, falling in love, heartbreak, a little bit about social media, people not understanding or minimizing your pain, you swallowing your pain to not hurt the ones around you (which I'm totally guilty of). It's about realizing how deep you've fallen... but it's also about survival, hope, and empowerment. It's about recovery and not giving up. It's beautiful and gut-wrenching at the same time, and that's why I loved it so much.

"You see over and over and over again I chose to live and now I am the strongest I’ve ever been. There are no longer vultures circling my sky. I have not been the prey in quite some time."

There's a side A and a side B. Side B has blackout poetry (which is a side of poetry I've been wanting to get into), and it nailed it. The fact that a new poem can be created from another one is amazing and beautifully shown here. I'm just so in love with this collection.

"I float on top of the wind of change/no one stops my growth but me."

We're going to leave it here because if I continue I'll just go in circles, but as a summary: this was incredible, I feel understood, and I need to read Alicia Cook's other books.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date: October 6th 2020
Quotes in here are from the finished copy

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

English Review below.

كانت مجموعة شعرية مميزة، فقد أحببت أجزاء منها وهناك أجزاء لم تعجبني. أحببت رسالة القصائد والتي تتحدث عن الاكتئاب والهوس والاهمال والخوف من فقدان الناس بالموت أو الهجران والتعامل مع صراعات المرء وأمراضه النفسية وإيجاد القبول في العالم والقبول داخلك. وكلها بدت حقيقية جدا وواقعية في نظري. كما أن كل قصيدة تنتهي بترشيح أغنية ملائمة للقصيدة، فينتهي الكتاب وقد جمعتم قائمة أغاني تليق بالحالة العامة.

ما لم يعجبني جدا كان الجزء الثاني من الكتاب والذي يحتوي نفس القصائد ولكن بطريقة التظليل، حيث يتم تظليل أجزاء معينة من القصيدة لتنتج عنها قصيدة أصغر ومعبرة وأحيانا بمعنى مخالف. كانت مشكلتي عدم تنظيم التظليل أحيانا فكنت أشعر بالتوهان لأنني لا أدري كيف أقرأ القصيدة الجديدة أو بأي اتجاه علي قراءتها. كما أن قصائد الجزء التاني كانت نفسها قصائد الجزء الأول ولكن بتقنية التظليل.
في المجمل كتاب لطيف لمحبي الشعر الحديث ولمن يحبون قراءة الكتابات الحديثة عن التعامل مع الاكتئاب وتخطي الأمراض النفسية.

This was a unique collection, I really loved parts of it, and some other parts weren't that great to me. I loved the messages, and how realistic and raw they were. The poems are about depression and obsession and neglect and fear and losing people either to death or they just left and dealing with your inner demons and finding acceptance from the world and yourself. All of which were great and felt so real to me. Also, it's got this unique experience where each poem (or track) ends with a songs suggestion, and you could make a playlist out of it.

What I didn't like very much were the repetitiveness of some expressions and metaphors and the second half of the book "the remix part" with the black-out poetry was sometimes a bit confusing and I couldn't figure out in which direction or order I am supposed to read the new poem. Also the second half of the book is the same poems with black-out poetry on top of them, not new poems.

Overall, I enjoyed the time I spent reading it.

I thank Netgalley for the digital ARC.

[Cassandra Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alicia Cook's newest poetry collection, Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back, is a super relevant exploration of mental illness, grief and lost love through verse. While I really enjoyed the first set of 92 poems (Side A), I found the remixes (Side B) even more intriguing. To create this super inventive B-side, Cook takes the first round of her poems and uses them to create new ones, using blackout/erasure poetry techniques to ultimately change their meaning.

[Danielle Simmons-Disbro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never had poems speak so deeply to my soul right from the start. If you or anyone you love suffers with anxiety, this books hits the nail on the head for how it feels. I also really enjoyed that this was written like a tape and after each poem there was a song associated with it (which I really want to turn into my new playlist). I also really liked the second side where the poems were blacked out, I had never read poetry like that before and enjoyed it!

[rin ⋆˚✿˖° · Rating 4 out of 5]

at a time i needed to feel seen and understood, these collections made me feel seen and understood.

[Yazminz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing I love about her poetry books is that she rewrites her poems with the words in it 😻 its so fun

[disco · Rating 3 out of 5]

time
is
poetic
It
loves
transitions.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Sorry I haven't Texted you back is a beautiful collection of poetry and presented in a unique and interesting way.

This book is presented as a mix tape with two sides: the first draft then the remix.

Each poem is meaningful and slips under your skin making you feel less alone and more understood. So many poems in this book resonated with me! I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and loved the second half with the remix too.

[ila ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY! This is a book I had been anticipating since before it was released and I didn't plan on it to be this long after it was released to finally finish the book but the point is, I did finish this book. (This is my first physical copy of a poetry book too!).

I loved Cook's first book, Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately. When I first read that book, I didn't expect much. I just wanted a fast read but it turned out to be one of the best poetry books I had ever read. It's understandable that I had an expectation for this book and I'm happy to say that my expectation was fulfilled.

In terms of poetic, although I can't say much because I'm not that poetic myself, there were a few poems that stood out. There were metaphors that made me say "OMG YAS WOW I COULD NEVER THINK OF THAT" but not all of the poems were like that and I'm okay with that. The strength of Cook's poems, for me, were how relatable they are.

Cook's experience with grief and healing process really resonated with me. I cried a lot reading this book, both tears of grief as well as tears of hope (which is kinda cliché but whatever). These topics were written really well and I really, really appreciate the author for that. There were also some poems that I could relate to the current pandemic situation although this book wasn't written during the pandemic.

Overall, this book is wonderful and definitely is now one of the book I'll come back to from time to time, to find comfort.

[Reb · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5.

Not as good as the other two books in this poetry series, but still a nice little read!

[Christina Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is so much more than a collection of poetry. It’s a poetic anthem for those with depression, anxiety, or any other question mark in their mind when it comes to their mental health and the way they internalize it.  

Due to the stigma surrounding mental health, many of these subjects or thoughts are not voiced aloud most days. The author manages to not only voice them, but humanize them in such a way that even those without firsthand knowledge of these feelings will still relate on some level. Because that is what depression can feel like: sadness, elevated and often with unknown cause.  

I felt so many of these pieces on such a deep level, I had to pause and re-read. Track Nine, Track Twenty-Six, and Track Twenty-Nine were some of the ones that truly resonated with me. 

Some of my favorite lines are listed below:  

“To the untrained eye, these coping mechanisms look a lot like self-destruction.”  

“Sparks did not fly when you met me, those were warning flares, distress signals.”  

“We were too busy obsessing over how something we wouldn’t ask for in one million years could show up unannounced and dictate our lives in such a way, that our memories became distorted, or amplified, or went missing altogether.”  

This book is filled with truths, with the kind of honesty many do not dare speak, but it also holds the kind of hope we all need.  

“This way, there will be no other choice but to rebuild, to come back as the person you’ve earned the right to become.”  

Five stars to a beautiful, impactful collection. Alicia Cook is the kind of author so many of us need today. 

[Faeeja Humaira Meem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and of course, Alicia Cook for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved it! I was mostly drawn towards "Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back" because the title is SO ME (I mean, it's a given for a millennial introvert.)
I am not normally a fan of this genre of poetry, but this was an incredible experience. I loved the concept of it, and how it was executed. As someone who visits depression and anxiety frequently, "Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back" hit me in some very crucial parts of me, and I resonated with it very much. I especially loved the "mixtape" structure and how each poem (called tracks here) ended with a song recommendation that fit the vibe. I listened to them while reading and my reading experience was definitely heightened.
But my favourite part of the book was "Side B" where the poet utilised the black-out poetry format to "remix" the poems on Side A to create almost new, smaller, more intricate poems within. It was fun to decipher them, and also made me a bit emotional after I read the outcome. I truly loved the uniqueness of this book and the rawness and simplicity in how Alicia described her emotions.
"Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back" is due to be published on the 6th of October 2020.

[Pedro Poeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here's how I was completely and utterly devastated by this book.

Synopsis
Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back is a poetic mixtape dedicated to those who struggle or have struggled with their mental health. Divided into two parts, “Side A” holds 92 poems, titled as “tracks,” and “Side B” holds the “remixes,” or blackout-poetry versions, of those 92 poems. The book includes the evergreen themes of love, grief, and hope.

As I read it...
It seems I picked this book in the best/worst time. We were deep in the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, overworked, underpaid, dealing with the first deaths of close ones, among other traumas... it is fair to say that the struggle was way too real, I'm sorry to inform. The first couple poems had me crying in bed, and I told myself it would be best to go slow with this one. However, I treated myself with one poem a day. Then, two a day. I found solace within this book. Alicia Cook didn't know me, but regardless, I felt seen. Understood. And as much as her words painfully cracked me open, they also managed to comfort me.

What I loved about it
Mixtapes are very much alive here and Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back pulled off a cross-genre with mastery. At the end of every poem, there's a "currently listening", associating the poem to a song. I reread some poems with the song later on and... wow. Some of them hit differently, some more potently than in my first read. That details is one which elevates the book and creates a rather special reading experience.

On that note, Side B, the "remixes", was a good surprise. One thing that I appreciate in poetry is the use of repetition to evoke emotion. I enjoyed how Alicia Cook "tweaked" the poems from Side A to add new, deeper meanings to their new versions.

Overall
When I came across Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back on NetGalley, I was instantly drawn to its cover and synopsis. I had no idea I was going to find such a rich, raw, contemporary-and-yet-evergreen body of work. This is a book to be savored, understood, reflected upon. I hadn't seen a book translates so accurately so many heavy emotions and experiences. Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back is a gift. I'm glad I found it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Sam Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys won't ever understand how much this book meant to me. First of all, I love this woman so much! "Stuff I've been feeling lately" amazed me so much that I didn't think other book will take that place in my heart! Second of all, I had this amazing opportunity of reading it earlier. And last but not least, this book was just what I needed it. And I'm gonna leave this here so you can understand a little bit.

The past is not something we can simply put down on a coffee table or leave behind at an airport. The past is part of us; sometimes for better, mostly for worse, but part of us nonetheless. To think we can simply "let go" of the past is just as silly as thinking we need to offer up we are today as sacrificial lambs in order to become who we will be tomorrow. It's also tethered and rooted that it feels fluid.
We cannot fully "let go", not really. We can't forget, not completely. But we can accept some things will always look more picturesque- seem more serene -from a safe distance, from a faint recollection, and we can move forward. It is imperative that we always move forward.

I'm trying to move on of an awful event that happened 4 years ago, event which my mind blocked on self-defense and now it feels like is slowly killing me. Everybody keeps telling me I'll get through it, it doesn't make it easier and it won't make it go away. My anxiety and those horrible panic attacks ain't helping either. But I'm doing my best to move forward! And I'll leave this here too and let myself out of the review. Thanks Alicia for writing this beautiful book and for making me feel understood ♥️ Please!! Y'all have to preorder this book right now!

So, when you feel the sadness lingering
remember not every guiding light
will glow bright.
There is a lesson found
in all your days,
even hidden in the
worst ones of your life.

Carry on, carry on.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️