Alicia Keys Reflects on 1994 Letter Written to Her Absent Father

Alicia Keys has shared an emotional “divorce” letter to her absent father that she wrote back in 1994.

The singer was just 14 years old when she wrote the letter stating that she wanted “nothing to do with” her estranged father, Craig Cook, who left when Keys was just two years old. The 39-year-old songstress proves that she has always had a way with words.

“In the early part of my teens I wrote this letter to my father, Craig. I wanted nothing to do with him. My words came from a place of vulnerability and longing. At the time it hurt so much to experience what felt like empty promises. I swore I didn’t care, but I did and it affected me deeply. I finally had enough and wrote those words.  It’s CRAZY that he kept this letter after all these years. I was so shocked when he first showed me. It was tucked away in a shoe box full of memories. I’m glad he and I can look back at it now as a sign of how far we’ve come,” The musician captioned the letter on social media.

In the letter Keys states, “All I want from you is to mind your business. I don’t want the phone calls, I don’t want the letters, I don’t want the fake acts you pull to try and make me think you care. I don’t want anything,” a part of the letter read. Since then, Keys and her father have amended their relationship and use the letter to reflect on their journey to where they are now. “I’m glad he and I can look back at it now as a sign of how far we’ve come,” she penned. The singer shares that her father has kept the letter since 1994 in a shoebox.

Keys is gearing up to release her new album, ALICIA which has been postponed twice, due to the current pandemic.