Alicia Cook is a multi-award-winning writer and mental health and addiction awareness advocate based in Newark, New Jersey. Her writing often focuses on addiction, mental health, and grief – sometimes all at once. She is the poet behind Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately (2016, Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist), I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip (2018), Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back (2020, Goodreads Choice Awards Semi-Finalist), and The Music Was Just Getting Good (2024). Her work has also been published in numerous anthologies and outlets including The New York Times.
Cook’s advocacy began years ago following the fatal heroin overdose of her 19-year-old cousin. Through her writing, she started shedding light on how drug addiction impacts the mental health of families. An essayist and speaker, her activism to fight the opioid epidemic is far-reaching and has garnered a worldwide readership. She has her own episode on the Emmy-nominated American PBS series Here’s the Story. She has since broadened the scope of her work to include other sensitive topics impacting our lives today.
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 Mental Health at Oxford University and had two poems shortlisted for the Central Avenue Poetry Prize. In 2024, she received the Becker Award from the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English.
She received an MBA from Saint Peter’s University and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Georgian Court University, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. She loves sleeping, her family, and iced coffee.