Alicia Cook is the curly-haired human behind 2016’s bestselling book of poetry, Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately, 2018’s I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip, and 2020’s Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back. She has contributed personal essays to 2019’s [Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise and 2022’s New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State.
Cook dedicates much of her life to shedding light on how drug addiction impacts the mental health of families. She released a collection of essays on the topic entitled Heroin Is The Worst Thing To Ever Happen To Me. An essayist and speaker, her activism to fight the opioid epidemic is far-reaching and has garnered a worldwide readership, and her very own episode on the Emmy-nominated PBS series Here’s the Story.
Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Asbury Park Press, LA Times, HuffPost, Your Tango, Thrive, and more.
She was the recipient of 2017’s Everyday Hero award from NJTV and 2018’s Women with Voices award from the Women with Voices Foundation. She was named a 2019 Healthcare Hero finalist by NJBiz. Her songwriting has been recognized by American Songwriter Magazine (4x honorable mention). Her alma mater, Georgian Court University, named her its 2020 Distinguished Alumni of the Year, and she was a Commencement Speaker at Georgian Court’s 2021 commencement. She was awarded a “40 Under 40” award from the Irish Echo in 2023. That same year, she spoke on the topic of Mental Health at Oxford University.
She received an MBA from Saint Peter’s University and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Georgian Court University. She currently resides in Newark, NJ, and loves her family and iced coffee.