Alicia Cook is a poet, essayist and activist. She is best known for writing bestselling book Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately and for spreading awareness on the impact of drug addiction. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Alicia Cook is a poet, essayist and activist. She is best known for writing bestselling book Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately and for spreading awareness on the impact of drug addiction. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Cook has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter's University. [7] [8]
She was named Distinguished Alumni of the Year in 2020 [9] by Georgian Court and was their commencement speaker in 2021. [10]
Cook's writing often explores grief, addiction, healing, and mental health. Her poetry is characterized by "direct, unflinching honesty and rich compassion." [3] [11]
In 2016, Cook released poetry collection Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately. [12] The book tackled life, death, love, trauma and growth. It is split into two parts, part A contains original poems while part B were remixes of poems found in part A. The book was a finalist for Goodreads Choice Awards. [13] [14] [15]
Cook is also known for intersecting music and poetry. [3]
She was the main subject in A Family Disease, an episode of the documentary series Here's the Story on PBS. [16] The episode focused on her advocacy and the ten year anniversary of the death of her cousin. [17]
Cook released The Other Side of Addiction in 2017. It is a collection of essays about drug addiction. The book informs and comforts people who are affected by addiction, especially the families of who witnessed heir loved ones suffer in addiction. [18]
In 2018, her second poetry book I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip was released by Andrews McMeel Publishing. [19]
In 2019, Cook went viral with the poem Sorry I haven't texted you back. [20] She released a poetry book of the same name in October 2020. [21] It was a semi-finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards. [22]
In 2022, Cook contributed an essay titled Why I Left to the anthology New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State (Rutgers University Press 2022) about her complicated feelings on her hometown. [23]
On January 9, 2024, Cook released the third and final book in her "mixtape" poetry series, entitled The Music Was Just Getting Good [24] .
Cook's writing success and efforts to combat the opioid epidemic earned her recognitions. This includes a Women with Voices Award from the Women with Voices Foundation and a "special voices" award from NJPBS. She was also a "public health hero" finalist by NJBIZ. [25] [26] [27] In 2023 she received a "40 under 40" award from The Irish Echo. [28]
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