Halsey has a long list of titles to her name: Grammy-nominated artist, Billboard chart-topping singer/songwriter, RIAA diamond-selling hitmaker, and now New York Times best-selling author.
I Would Leave Me If I Could: A Collection of Poetry, her debut poetry book that came out on Nov. 10, ranked No. 2 as of Thursday morning (Nov. 19) on The New York Times Best Sellers hardcover fiction list. The 26-year-old was in disbelief over her latest accolade but acknowledged the years of writing, crying and traveling that she endured to get to this moment.
“I woke up to discover that I am a New York Times Best Selling Author. I am kind of in shock,” she wrote on social media today, along with a childhood picture of a young glasses-wearing Halsey (real name Ashley Nicolette Frangipane) doodling on her knee. “Accolades are sometimes based on weird algorithms and viral hits and luck. But sometimes they are based on a true human connection to the art.”
She continues, “The tiny girl who learned all her life lessons in novels, propped up on her elbows with a flashlight at night, thanks you. The teenager distracted through all her high school classes, writing short stories about great loves and world adventures, thanks you. The 20 year old huddled over her phone in her notes app, crying silently through a moment of weakness on the 200th airplane that year, thanks you. 26 year old me who has often seen my art populate because of a pretty outfit or a dating rumor, thanks you.”
Just like how Halsey’s fans have been exposed to her ultra-vulnerable and confessional lyricism, I Would Leave Me If I Could: A Collection of Poetry takes readers through the highs and lows of her failed relationships, family ties, sexuality and bipolar disorder.
“This is faceless. I am not sexy, or loud, or charismatic for this art. I am sad, and frustrated with myself, and trying to decide which memories scald me the least to touch. Or perhaps which ones do the most. This is for you to find yourself in,” her lengthy tribute concluded. “I hope in your loneliness or sorrow you find a mirror in here. I hope you find a loving embrace. And if you don’t, I hope you at least think the cover looks pretty cool. Love always, Ash.”
Read Halsey’s reaction to her literary accolade below.