Inherited Ruin

Jonathan Valania

The air is thick, toxic—

smothering the version of me I showed only to you.

Looking back, you never wanted this—


the white picket fence, the PTA, the suburban dream.

You craved chaos, the military, escape—

anything to outrun the pain of your past.


A nomad bound by trauma,

haunted by relentless self-talk—

a final gift in the death of us.


You abandoned us for sinful desires,

for any man who smiled your way.

I think you learned that from her.


Without your pain, maybe

things would’ve been different.

 

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Nicotine

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Letters I'll Never Send

It started with evidence—court documents, voicemails, and text messages meant to prove what was done behind closed doors. But somewhere in the quiet aftermath, it became something else. A record. A release. A slow, sacred beginning.

Letters I’ll Never Send is a poetry and prose collection drawn from the wreckage of an abusive relationship. These pages hold what was never safe to say out loud—fury, sorrow, confusion, love twisted by fear. It’s not a story wrapped in resolution. It’s what healing sounds like when you’re still in the middle.

The print edition includes exclusive poems and reflections not found online. A portion of proceeds goes toward supporting survivors of domestic abuse.

This book isn’t just for the ones who escaped.

It’s for anyone learning how to live after.