“Dear My Blank” + “The Last Message Received”

I can’t remember for the life of me how I found either Dear My Blank: Secret Letters Never Sent or The Last Message Received. Based on popular tumblrs created by Ohio teenager Emily Trunko, these slim, illustration-packed books are filled with texts, letters, conversations, and voicemails that have in one way or another left an indelible mark in someone’s life.

They provide fascinating insight into the lives of others, as we are given glimpses but never the full picture. With letters from and messages to all kinds of people – parents, siblings, extended family, romantic partners, friends, teachers, and even pets – we are reminded that we are not alone. You may feel that you’re the only one in the whole wide world who thinks and feels the way you do, but I promise you that reading these books will show you otherwise.

And comfort you.

Due to the very nature of The Last Message Received, I found it a much more depressing book than Dear My Blank. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but if I were to do it over again I would start with The Last Message Received so that I could end on a more uplifting note.

It was so cool to peek into others’ lives, noticing how different people are at different ages. I mean, let’s be fair, it was pretty obvious which love letters were written by fifteen-year-olds because they sounded overwrought and dramatic and made lots of references to, I don’t know, stardust and other cliche shit. You can do better! You have your whole life ahead of you and this definitely won’t be the only time you fall in love!

But I digress.

Dear My Blank and The Last Message Received are not long, but both inspired me to take a look at some of my old communications, from letters dating back to elementary school stashed away in a desk drawer to text messages from people I haven’t seen since we lived in the same freshman-year dorm.

Two of the BA degrees I’m working toward are English & Creative Writing and Journalism & Mass Communication, so I spend the majority of my time both in and out of the classroom pondering how and why people choose to convey the messages that they do. But I think anyone could enjoy these books, no matter their interests.

Who among us hasn’t written a letter we know we’ll never send or regret not responding to a message that would later turn out to be the last one we received from a certain special someone?