Description
Forthcoming February 3rd, 2026.
My Dear Cult Leader by Aly Acevedo is a winding, weighty collection–at once layered with scars and warm, velvet nights.
The collection dissects cyclic violences through the figures of the ‘cult leader’ and his followers, interwoven with personal narratives of trauma and survival. Acevedo examines the lasting effects of sexual assault and toxic relationships on the body and mind. Dynamically sensory and emotionally raw, Acevedo’s work calls for female safety and solidarity, and strikes a remarkable balance between devastation and hope.
My Dear Cult Leader gives careful attention to the wounds of humanity—finding in them the way back to love and self-empowerment.
Praise for Aly Acevedo
From reverence to ruin, Aly Acevedo maps the tumultuous terrain of love, loss, and the illusions we build around both. With piercing clarity, these poems lay bare the unspoken violences of intimacy and the strength it takes to reclaim what was lost. My Dear Cult Leader is for anyone finding their way back to themselves.
— Sierra Demulder, author of Ephemera
Acevedo’s My Dear Cult Leader is a journey of self-actualization. With stark clarity, Acevedo exposes the violence of a patriarchal world that seeks to control women’s bodies. Searing, carnal, true. This is triumphant poetry.
– Josh Tvrdy, Smut Psalm
This book brims with empathy, illustrating the push and pull of evil and humanity. My Dear Cult Leader will teach you a lot, including things about yourself you didn’t want to learn, but I promise you, it will be worth it. – Neil Hilborn, About Time
About Aly Acevedo
Aly Acevedo is a Puerto Rican and Vietnamese poet, educator and speaker based in the Kansas City area. Her debut collection, My Dear Cult Leader (Button Poetry, 2026), examines the long shadows of a toxic relationship and the… MORE
