Letters to the Lost

by McKayla DeBonis

Letters to the Lost is a collection of letters and poetry that encapsulates heartbreak in a variety of relationships. A way to forgive, forget, or rebirth what was once lost. Through powerful imagery, the reader will experience grief, loss, and pain as they flip through the pages. Walking away with letters of their own and the decision to leave them in the lost bin or hold on until they're ready.

Genres: Poetry

95 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2020

About the author

Mckayla is a bookworm of a soul, and realized that her mind was spinning with the same creativity of her beloved writers, leading to her own poetry, prose, and other writings. Her Hogwarts house is Hufflepuff and you'll definitely find her with a cup of coffee in her hand and her nose in a book at all times.

You can find her on any social media platform as, mckayladebonis

Reviews

[Alex (novelswithalex) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection! I have loved each of McKayla's collections that I've had the opportunity to read, and it's so clear how far she has come in her ability to tell meaningful, personal, and poignant stories from her life through poetry.

What I love the most about her collections, as I always mention, is that there is such a clear cohesion to all of her poems and the collection as a whole. I really love how she formatted this specific collection where there's a letter to a lost relationship and then a few poems adding to the story of what happened or how she feels now. It was really nice to see the ways in which she has personally grown and changed from each of these lost relationships, and I'm glad that she included many different forms of relationships. It's nice to read poetry collections that don't solely focus on romantic love.

Overall, I really loved this collection. It felt like it had a rhythm to it, and that these stories were living things both on the page and in her own life. They felt incredibly real. I love how honest and vulnerable McKayla is with her poetry. Another great collection!

[Jessica C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really solid collection by McKayla! I always love her work, and this was such a nice, cohesive read.

Letters to the Lost is a collection about heartbreak, losing friendships, broken trust, and even loss of oneself. It was relatable and full of emotion.

A great read!

[Shannon O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

This collection is one I think everyone can relate to. Mckayla writes 'letters' to those who have left her but in a way, everyone can relate to these letters. If you have had your heart broken or lost a best friend, or any other type of heartache you will find solace in her poetry. This collection (like her others) are beautifully written metaphors that give you hope. Her poetry truly grows with each and every book she writes and this collection is an example of that. I would absolutely recommend you grab a copy and hold it close.

[Alexis B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKayla Debonis's "Letters to the Lost" is a phenomenal collection of ghosts that need to be dealt with. Each letter is filled with emotion you can feel and also relatable aspects. I fully loved each piece and felt that this is a good form of release. Every piece is impactful and so personal, that I am grateful to have read it. On top of all of her other books, I believe this one may be my favorite.

[Sasha Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

in a collection reminiscent of ava dellaira's love letters to the dead debonis lets out grief, anger, and regret at the ones still around to haunt her without ever having died. there's a distinct and recognizable vulnerability in her writing that i believe anyone who read this book and has dealt with the loss and trauma of a relationship — platonic and/or romantic — and the demise of it. read this book and appreciate the ones that help you get found.

[Watch Jamie Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

“i wanted to believe in the best of you.”

This collection is of relationships. Romantic, one sided/forced, friendships, familial, passing, etc. I really enjoyed the sentiments expressed here. I especially felt the poems about missing family members who have passed away. I’ve read other works by DeBonis and this is by far my favorite! Beautiful words.

[Mia Linder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Letters to the Lost. All about the ghosts of the past, Letters to the Lost is extremely relatable for those who have gone through hardships in life. From breakups, dealing with death, to strained relationships - this handles it all. Well done!

[Jada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letters to the lost is a powerful book of poems and stories that I think everyone will be able to take something from. I seen a piece of myself in some of the stories and I hope that others will too. Overall a good read and something I will be coming back to in the near future.

[Ryan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏꜱᴛ ʙʏ ᴍᴄᴋᴀʏʟᴀ ᴅᴇʙᴏɴɪꜱ

Genre: Poetry

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

(This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.)

[Trigger warnings: death, sexual assault, depression, self-harm, suicide]

I've been reading DeBonis' poetry for the last 3+ years and there hasn't been a work of hers I haven't liked.

I think I especially liked LETTERS TO THE LOST because in this book DeBonis really branched out with her formatting. The majority of the poems were center justified which accented her writing style perfectly and some of them were in prose/paragraph form, which was a pleasant surprise.

Her writing has a nice flow and it's an easy read. But, just because it's an easy and quick read, it doesn't make it any less emotional.

Thank you DeBonis for writing about such tough topics.

I recommend this novel to poetry readers.

[Alison Sea · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars I liked this, but I wish there was more backstory about the relationships. It covers romantic, familial, and friend relationships, and there are points in which the vagueness makes it repetitive (especially because the first letters are the same for some of the "lost".)

[Cheyenne Raine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ode to all the people we carry with us in our minds and memories- a letter to release them. Such a great read!

[Shelby Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful collection! McKayla never disappoints.

[Fatima Abdullah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

I felt so bored reading it, no creativity or sense of it in most of the pages.
Simple wording, shallow and emotionless paragraphs.

[D.C. Haroldsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all have past ghosts who haunt us which makes this book so relatable. I enjoyed reading this very much. I will come back and read this again for sure.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t horrible. There were a few repetitive ones, but also really moving ones.

[Sheneli Narangamuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a powerful collection. I felt some entries on a personal level, very sensual and brought me closure I didn’t know I needed. ❤️

[Kelsey Marie Moghadaspour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letters to the Lost is a beautiful and heartbreaking collection of poetry that, while obviously specific and close to the heart of the writer, can be related to by more or less anyone that reads it. Heartbreak and emotion and pent up feelings surge through every page of this lyrical book, pushing the reader to think about their own lost bin.

While some things felt occasionally repetitive, nothing could take away from the beauty this poetry collection holds, and nothing would prevent me from recommending this to any avid poetry reader. A wonderful book indeed.

[A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve seen McKayla DeBonis’ books when I was looking for poetry books to read on Amazon and I’m pretty sure that I’d even checked out Letters to the Lost that first time I went searching. I wasn’t in the mood for it at the time I guess, but I saw it again and this time it didn’t occur to me to not read it. I was so interested in seeing how this collection would turn out and I absolutely loved it. It made me cry, made my heart ache and I really loved that she included lost friendships, I relate to that a lot and I just appreciated that she had them in there. Letters to the Lost was a wonderful collection and I will no doubt pick up McKayla DeBonis again!