"Almost Held, Never Loved is a raw and tender poetry collection about being half-chosen, half-heard, and wholly underestimated. Through themes of heartbreak, self-abandonment, and emotional resilience, Udita Somani captures what it means to ache for love that never stays—and the quiet courage it takes to choose yourself instead. These poems speak to the ones who loved deeply, lost silently, and kept soft in a world that asked them to harden. This is not a story of being saved. It’s a story of surviving anyway—of blooming, breaking, and finally becoming the kind of love you were always looking for."