The Letters I Will Never Send: poems to read, to write and to share

by Isabella Dorta

'these letters thus far have remained unsent, i want you to change that for me.'

Embrace honesty and heal beautifully.

In the letters i will never send, TikTok poet Isabella Dorta urges you to leave nothing unsaid and take comfort in moving poems on love, heartbreak, mental health and self-discovery.

With beautiful line illustrations and over 100 poems written in the form of confessional letters addressed to the most influential figures in your

Your younger self
Your future self
Your lover
Your body
Your family
and more

Take the ultimate step. Read, rip out, burn or send the letters out into the world. Write your own and share them with the people in your life. Just don't hold back!

Genres: Poetry, Self Help, Nonfiction, Mental Health

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2023

Reviews

[elea ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Isabella's poetry so much

[Marijne Van Boeckel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed following Isabella for a long time on TikTok so when I came across her book in a bookstore, I just knew I had to pick it up.

Isabella has a way of writing that immediately speaks to you, so soft and welcoming.

Her letters left me inspired. I’m curious to reading more from her in the future.

[Liam Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on my lunch break and started it before I had to go back to work. I read some more on my little 5-minute breaks in between long sprints of head down organisation. I read yet more while I was waiting for the lasagne to finish cooking once work was done. And i read again until the book was finished while I was soaking in the bath. Once I started, I found I wanted to keep returning, so really, anything below a 5 star makes no damn sense. Now, does it?

I've been watching Isabella Dorta's spoken poetry on TikTok for a while now, and I was intrigued to see how her style would translate to the page. Beautifully, seamlessly, and tenderly was the answer. This book is not only a soft yet sometimes harsh collection of well-curated expressions in lettered vulnerability, but it is genius in its format. It presents each poem as an unsent letter and encourages you through its smart illustration of a scissor cut line to remove the pages that relate and send them to someone. The style of the poems retains Dorta's cadence and emotionality while providing a detachment enough for each reader to find the letters that speak to them with unflinching relatability. Simple, emotive, and valuable. Both hopeful and yet not overtly patronising in its optimism.

[kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

isabella im sending you my bill from therapy

[KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the many poetry books I have found myself getting into lately.
I particularly enjoyed this one just because of how easy going and natural it was.
It felt as if I was opening up one of my past journals and reading through it. With that being said I think I rated this 4 stars because it was so easy to create my own variations of her poems.
She leaves room in the back of the book for the reader to write their own letters to people and encourages you to burn, cut, or crush her poems within the book.

I considered the ending beautiful-with letters to her past and future self. Almost as a sorry and you didn't deserve what you experienced to her past self and a hopeful and gleaming look into her future, in hopes of continuing on her journey to heal.

[Sw33t_heart89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ I read slowly because I don’t want finish , beautiful book of poetry, I recommend to read

[Alyssa Strasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first became aware of Isabella on Instagram, and loved her spoken poems. I thought this was a great collection of poetry and resonated with many of her letters. The aspect of cutting out the letters and writing your own were unique touches.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it - collection of letters from the author that she never sent, expressing her thoughts and feelings over family, friends, lovers, people who hurt her... Even letters to past and future self. It encourages to write your own letters, send them or burn them ❤️‍🩹

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely poems. Very open and real.

[Nina's Reading List · Rating 2 out of 5]

Letters to the Universe and to my future self were my favorite. There were a lot of poems I could not resonate with.

[grey w · Rating 2 out of 5]

i liked how this covered so many varieties of relationships with people. i thought it was great she decided to sort them out the way she did. however, the moment i opened the book (i bought this without knowing anything about her) i could smell the tiktok author dripping off of her. it lacked depth. the first few felt like things i’d write in middle school. kinda cringe. as it progressed it got better for sure. i wish she didn’t label it as poetry and just wrote actual letters because i think considering this poetry isn’t exactly a good way to frame it, but that’s just me being picky.

[jasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. these poems ripped open old wounds and then stitched them back together again. and the story you follow throughout them is wonderfully done. isabella dorta is a master writer. her work is so painful yet so beautiful ❤️‍🩹🤍

[Georgia Mckevitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lovely sentiment- the idea of unsent letters. A gorgeous opportunity to connect to your audience through encouraging healing through writing but in comparison to some of the other poets I’ve read and listened to, the work didn’t quite reach where I hoped it would. I look forward to watching Dorta’s work mature as she does!

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very touching, especially the section “to past me.” A lot of the same topics kept coming up which I grew a little bored of (especially in the “to my ex, to my lover, etc.) but the struggles that the author has persevered through are life changing and the way she expresses herself through her poems is inspiring.

[Samantha Maree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. I love Isabella’s TikTok’s. But I feel the poems are missing something on their own. Isabella has a way for speaking that adds so much emotion the poems that I feel like is missing in the book by itself.

But I still enjoyed the poems. Would read anything else she publishes in the future

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing poetry book that touches on so many different types of relationships with yourself and others. I also love how interactive it is, I wrote who I would send the letters to in the book as I read.

[Chloe Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ Rating


Poetry speaks in a language I didn’t know I understood—until it spoke for me. It’s like poetry reads my soul aloud before I’ve even made sense of it myself.
I truly do not know what else to say other than, thank you, poets, for translating my silence into something that sings

[Anouk Gouma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mijn allereerste poëzieboek gelezen. De schrijfster kwam ik tegen op tiktok en toen ik ontdekte dat ze ook boeken geschreven had moest ik er wel een halen. Het is prachtig om te lezen hoe zij het leven kan vangen in een brief en op een poëtische wijze kan schrijven. Absoluut een aanrader!

[(matilde) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5

[Grace McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

lol i just read this in b and b

[jacky · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

[Elles Reekers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this!!

[Isabella Chiovitti · Rating 5 out of 5]

stunning. isabella truly lays her heart on the table and tells her story with such grace and eloquence. this collection made me feel all the feelings and brought me to tears a couple times. if you need to heal or if you just need to be inspired, you need this.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the author writes is so sweet and I overall didn't think the book was bad, but not really my style fully

[na na na diva ... ⋆·˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am in love with this book. truly.

[Titi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello! I don’t usually review books and any kind of purchases I make, but I just felt the need to do it for this gem!

Before I do my review I have to say that english is not my native language so I might have many errors! Sorry about that!😅

To start, I have to say that I am extremely into poetry for the past few years, especially the kind that Isabella writes; raw and real. I have to say that I fell in love with Isabella’s poetry right away when I discovered her on tiktok. The very first poem of hers that I read was “Just like brushing my teeth” if I can recall the name correctly. From there on, I immediately clicked the follow button and the world of poetry was completely altered for me. I just can not explain how much her work impacted my overall love for poetry. Fast forward few weeks from then, I ordered her very first book “how sunflowers bloom under moonlight” and I completely loved it.

In October last year, I also ordered both of her books that are unfortunately no longer available on the internet called “how to be heartbroken” and “how to be mentally well”. I can say with confidence I enjoyed both and I loved the twist in the book where I could also write my own thoughts and poetry in it. Very creative Isabella!!

However, I am not here to talk about all the other books, I am here to talk about her most recent one— “The letters I will never send”. I had such huge hopes for this book of poetry since I was and still am a big fan of the last three she published. I can safely say that this book did NOT dissapoint!! It was actually my favourite one by her so far. I liked the concept of the book and how her poems were letters written to all the relevant and impactful people in her life. The love letters to her ex, crush and lover were the sections of the book that touched me the most, and I was completely swayed by that so very careful and elegant use of words Isabella had. I honestly do not have any words good enough to describe this book other than beautiful and well…poetic!!😅 Well done and written Isabella, your effort has definitely payed off!


And…if by some strange miracle, you end up reading this Isabella, I really hope you understand how many people’s lives you alter and change with your words. You are born a healer and an artist. If no one has yet told you, you should be so proud of yourself. From the depth of my soul, thank you for the beautiful pieces of writing you shared with all of us in these past years, and please never stop doing it. 🫶🏻

One of the many people you inspired— @martina.matak

[halina mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always hesitant to pick up "modern" poetry because a lot of it isn't worth spending the money to read. It's all just a sentence that someone pushed enter on a million times. That's a cool art form, but it's not poetry. This, however, is poetry. Each section had at least a few that made me cry. They are so relatable and beautifully put together. The imagery Dorta uses is intriguing and she doesn't use tired cliches. She doesn't try to sugarcoat or make things flowery, either. There were only a few poems in the whole collection that I felt kind of meh about. The whole book is stylized in all lowercase, which I personally like, but I know some people don't. Overall, some of the best poetry of the recently released that I have read. Rupi Kaur has nothing on Isabella Dorta.

Some of my favorite excerpts:
"i am a toddler removing my own training wheels.
i have fallen
and fallen
and fallen,
but i am getting back up

and i am trying." -p.18

"you learned to love me
for nine months
before we even met
and
i have spent eighteen years
perfecting how to return the favor." -p. 26

"if i choose to love you now
i will have to choose to un-love you later." -p. 51

"i think loving you was both the kindest
and most self-destructive thing i have ever done.

in the same breath,
we built new bridges and burned old ones." -p. 79

"i hope you still think i am pretty
when you see me collapse for the first time.
when you watch me crumble
and disappear
and disappoint you." -p. 82

"we existed together
in the collision
of the confusion
of everyone around us." -p. 103

"maybe i'm collecting them,
the glossy shards of eyes from the boys that have
broken me.
i'll create a mosaic out of you all,
a pretty stained-glass window.
i'll cut myself in the process" -p. 110

"and today i burned you.
every part of you that still gripped onto me,
i pried off.
i finally let you go.
and oh,
you burned well,
all orange and brash,
the very last pieces of you
billowing black smoke in my face." -p. 125

"there is a home in my trauma,
in how my brain cannot process safety.

i miss being traumatized
it is masochistic,
i know,
but it is beautifully home to me." - p. 157

"i am not a poet.
i am not keats, or wilde, or shakespeare, or plath.
i am not living to write.
i am writing to live.

perhaps one day i can write
without the need to be saved." -p. 172

[Ritaban Biswas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of poems is unlike any other. After reading it, I got a feeling that Dorta poured her everything into the pages, sharing what she had always wanted the world (her readers) to know. A distinctive aspect of this book is that every page can be torn out and "sent to someone" regarding the poetry it contains. The ability to "read, rip out, burn, or send" these letters to whomever is granted by the author.

The poems in this book, which is divided into twelve sections, are dedicated by the author to the cosmos, to her past and future selves, to those who have harmed her, and to other poets. Each poem in each part is crucial and has the same gravity as the one before it. In addition to being complex to read, a book like this is also challenging to review. This is not a "review"; rather, it is my true perspective on "The Letters."

[christ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“

Although I don’t believe in God, I like to think there is someone watching over me. I’d so prefer some sort of being one who is undoubtedly proud of what I have achieved with their help.

I’m yet to write about the person whose soul reminds me of clouds.

I never told you this, but it took me three days to uncover the courage to talk to you, even longer to craft the script I was so determined to use.

I would let you drag me straight to the hell if I got to hold your hand all the way down.

I took the cramps you gave me convinced it was a whole loaf. I was starving, you see? No one had ever tried to feed me before.

We were family without blood, but I’d be a liar If I said I didn’t bleed when you left.

My body and I are so addicted to concern.

And your victimhood is no one’s but your own. “