Letters We Never Sent - Announcing A New Substack
The How & Why of Letters We Never Sent - A Newsletter Compiled of User Submissions
Today, I am deviating from the normal posts on “The View From Israel” to announce a new Newsletter on Substack, “Letters We Never Sent,” which I hope many people will participate in. You can read all about it here. Below is a basic explanation of “Letters We Never Sent.” “Letters We Never Sent” is starting from scratch, which is always a tricky proposition. No imports of email lists are being done, and we are relying on some essential advertising and Substack's extraordinary social network. It is open to everyone.
Before you read below, we all have a letter we never wrote and sent in our minds and hearts. You are welcome to submit such a letter, which can be completely anonymous. We will never publish full names, no matter what. Read the rules below. I do hope you love the idea and subscribe as soon as possible. And, of course, use the submit button to submit your letter!
Letters We Never Sent
The Why?
We all have letters we've written but never sent - those emotional notes, loving confessions, or cathartic expressions that we kept private. Though you may have felt alone in writing them, you're not; we all have words locked away that went unsaid. We want to give us a place to share some of those letters now.
Therefore, we are now creating a website called "Letters We Never Sent" to give voice to the letters from our past that never found their recipient. It will be a safe, anonymous place to get those words off your chest and connect with others through our unsent letters.
We invite you to submit a letter you've written but held back over the years. It can be addressed to someone specific or written as a personal note to yourself. Share what you wish you had expressed when the feelings were raw. Your words capture an essential moment; unpacking them now could provide insight or closure.
This site aims to help us feel heard and build a thoughtful community by posting our stories and reading others' unsent letters. Together, we can find comfort and meaning in the letters we never sent by giving them new life. I welcome your authentic, unpublished letters to help others feel less alone and make this vision a reality.
We Want Your Letters!
Submission of your letters and our publishing of them is entirely free!
We all have intense emotions inside us—feelings of passion, heartbreak, regret, gratitude, and more. Sometimes, those emotions spill out in a letter we pen late at night, a note we long to send but can’t quite bring ourselves to drop in the mailbox. Though these letters go unheard by their intended recipients, they represent monumental turning points and intimate moments in our lives. They deserve to be shared, not stuffed in a box in the attic where no one will ever read them.
That’s why we created the "Letters We Never Sent" project—a digital archive and supportive community where people publicly submit letters they wrote but never worked up the nerve to deliver in real life. By anonymously publishing your unsent letters on the site, you finally have a platform to express pivotal emotions, life stories, and inner truths you’ve kept hidden away for too long. Shed your inhibitions and self-censoring to speak your whole heart and mind without fear of judgment or consequences. Share the honest words and pent-up feelings you wish you could have vocalized years ago.
Whether your unsent letter contains a secret crush confession, an apology to a friend after a fight, grief over a lost loved one, gratitude to a teacher who changed your life, or any other powerful message, we encourage you to submit it to Letters We Never Sent. Help create a rich, emotional archive brimming with our unheard voices, life lessons, dreams, regrets, and more as we connect deeply personal moments we all can relate to in some way.
Please click the Submit Your Letter Button to submit a letter to Letters We Never Sent. It will lead you to a form outside of Substack. Please do not send any letters to the publication via email. We cannot publish them without you filling out the form and giving your consent.
Why subscribe?
You don't need to submit a letter to subscribe. Submitting a letter is entirely up to you. However, you'll be asked to subscribe if you send a letter.
Sign up for our subscriber newsletter, where we send almost daily selections of newly published letters straight to your inbox, along with commentary from the reading public about prevalent themes. Read intimate stories, insightful reflections on spiritual awakenings, cathartic expressions of heartbreak and abuse survival, empowering manifestos of self-love, and more. Understanding the diverse experiences of others can be genuinely inspiring and healing.
What compelling letter do you think you could read? Please submit it to our site and free yourself of the emotional burdens lingering from the past. Join our compassionate community where your authentic stories, unfiltered emotions, and unsent words finally have a receptive, nonjudgmental audience.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
The Rules
(These are all listed on the submission form and our Privacy and Terms & Conditions Page.)
The link provided is where you submit your “Letter.” Please do not email your letter to us directly. It will get lost in the crowd. We also need to verify your email for your protection. All this is handled on the form.
You can remain "anonymous" or use a name. The name does not have to be your name. It can be a pseudonym, another name, or your real name. Please enter the information as you wish and remember what you input.
If you wish your letter to be listed as "anonymous," please put "Anon" in the first name field on the form.
If your letter contains information about others, please do not use last names or other personal identifying characteristics. If you do, such identifiers will be removed. (e.g., email, address, phone numbers, etc.)
Hate & Racist letters will not be published, so don't bother.
Spam letters will not be published.
All commercial links will be removed from letters (and probably lead to the letter not being published.)
Letters containing threats to other individuals or expressions to perpetrate violent acts will not be published. They may be reported to the relevant authorities.
The email you use here will be incorporated into our newsletter. If we publish your letter, you will receive an individual email that it was published.
If you are using a secondary email, please make a note of it. The only way to track your submission is through your email.
Why are there duplicate email fields? The first two are to ensure you are not making any mistakes in typing. The Email Validator sends you a code that you must paste into the field that appears to verify you have access to the email. This is to prevent fraud or someone impersonating you. It is for your safety.
Please note that we will only publish English letters for the first three months.
Under no condition will we ever share or sell your email address.
After submission, you should receive an email that your letter has been submitted with the text. If you do not receive such an email, please contact: lwnsforms@letnev.com
Please do not email the publication directly with your “Letter Never Sent," as we cannot publish any material without you providing consent that is listed on the form.
Love this new Substack.