Book Review: Better Left Unsent | Lia Louis

Have you ever accidentally overshared with someone you shouldn’t? The shame spiral afterwards makes me cringe just thinking about it! In Lia Louis’s Better Left Unsent, a woman accidentally spills all of her deepest thoughts to her coworkers. Fun and charming!

What is Better Left Unsent about?

Two years ago, thirty-year-old receptionist Millie Chandler had her heart spectacularly broken in public. Ever since, she has been a closed book, vowing to keep everything to herself—her feelings, her truths, even her dreams—in an effort to protect herself from getting hurt again.

But Millie does write emails—sarcastic replies to her rude boss, hard truths to her friends, and of course, that one-thousand-word love declaration to her ex who is now engaged to someone else. The emails live safely in her drafts, but after a server outage at work, Millie wakes up to discover that all her emails have been sent. Every. Single. One.

As every truth, lie, and secret she’s worked so hard to keep only to herself are catapulted out into the open, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused, and face everything she’s ever swept under the carpet. (synopsis from Goodreads)

What did I think?

If this isn’t a story for the anxiety the prevalence of the internet created, I don’t know what is. I can’t be the only person who fears accidentally sending an email or text to someone I shouldn’t. I know several people who type up an email to someone as a way to get out their real thoughts, and then delete and send something more appropriate. It’s a way of releasing those feelings! I wouldn’t risk this because it’s too easy to accidentally send something.

Thirty year-old receptionist Millie Chandler feels differently. Two years ago, she had her heart spectacularly broken (in public, no less). Now, Millie takes out her feelings and frustrations with others by drafting an email to them saying what she wishes she had said or telling them bluntly how she really feels. She then files those too-honest emails right into her drafts folder and writes up a proper email, feeling the catharsis of getting her feelings out in a professional way.

Until one morning Millie arrives at work and sees that all of her emails have been sent. It’s as awful as if your entire office received a copy of your diary. I experienced secondhand horror just imagining what Millie was going through! The book opens straight away with Millie being called into the boardroom where a stack of every email she “sent” printed out and sitting on the table. Emails she wrote to colleagues informing them of how rude they are, emails she wrote to her family about secrets she has been keeping for them, and emails she wrote to the man who broke her heart.

I found this book funny and heartfelt. Millie may be in a terrible spot to try and sort out, but her emails are hilarious. The emails are peppered throughout the book, and they make for fun reading in between the horrifying chapters chronicling the aftermath of the email disaster. It’s easy to relate to Millie. She’s absolutely mortified, but she also was someone who was often discarded by those who felt more important than her. Don’t we all wish we could email back some pretentious jerk from work and tell him to say please and thank you if he wants a favor?

The emails to the man who broke her heart, Owen, were raw and emotional. They are the kind of things we all wish we could say but know we can’t. In particular in the aftermath when Millie is broken hearted and has to learn about his engagement to another woman who he just told her two weeks ago was “nothing serious”. The relationship with Owen was toxic, but haven’t we all dated our share of men who were wrong for us? I certainly have.

Don’t worry, Millie finds growth through this mortifying experience. There’s a power in being honest with others and with ourselves. Millie is able to see everything that was rotten about her relationship with Owen, and she may not have if it weren’t for the emails getting released. Perhaps there is even a new love interest in her future!

Funny, charming, heartfelt, and uplifting!

Thank you to Atria Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.