WELL WOULD YA LOOK AT THAT
A WHOLE YEAR
OF CIRCLE BACK
A NEWSLETTER
WRITTEN BY KERRY CUNNINGHAM
AND GHOSTWRITTEN
BY OLIVIA WILDE
And since Circle Back began (one year ago), the reviews are finally in!
“Circle Back is truly a one-of-a-kind newsletter, full of genuine laughter and mostly correct spelling.” — The New York Times
“Cunningham shows the world what it means to not only be a fantastic and hilarious writer, but also what it’s like to be a very gorgeous girly with a million-dollar smile.” — The Washington Post
“If you’re not reading Circle Back, do you even know how to raed?” — Lea Michele
“If Circle Back ever gets made into a limited series, I would love to play her!” — Saoirse Ronan and also Meryl Streep
“Funniest work I’ve ever read in my entire life. And I was in Sister Act.” — Whoopi Goldberg
Wow. High praise, truly.
Now, while this newsletter has gained mostly fans, it has also gained enemies. One of its most famous enemies was Queen Elizabeth II. She hated it so much and wanted it to fail. In order to steal the spotlight from Circle Back’s one-year anniversary, she did the only thing that could maybe do the job: she died.
And while it a l m o s t worked, alas, it did not! The year anniversary of the Circle Back newsletter is still shining bright like a candle in the wind. One day, a laptop open to this newsletter’s website will be on display in a museum, just like Queen Elizabeth apparently will be:
The girly is a British prop, and so is my laptop. Here’s How You Can See The Queen’s Body In A Building Next Door To A Nando’s! My laptop will be on display at the Smithsonian, right next to the Detroit Lions jacket that Eddie Murphy wears in Beverly Hills Cop II. I won’t lie: I’ve never seen Beverly Hills Cop II, but I was afraid to say that my laptop would be right next to the Cosby sweaters, so I chose that instead. ANYWAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE QUEEN AND BILL COSBY out here stealing my thunder.
If you disagree with this, please do not inform me of it, but I feel like writing this newsletter has done exactly what I wanted it to do. I started it to make sure that I was still writing in a sort of creative way while I didn’t have a writing job; they’re not just handing them out in New York like we all thought they were! And I wanted to give myself deadlines so that it wasn’t like I could write it once every three months or something; I needed a homework assignment due every Sunday sometimes Monday. And I needed subscribers so that it felt like I couldn’t stop! There were people waiting for it! This newsletter was teaching people how to read! I can’t go back on that. And even though a lot of the topics I’ve been writing about are not the most important topics in the world (speak for yourself), they were topics that were easy to process while you were sitting on the train or lying on the couch or waiting for your coffee and reading this newsletter on your phone — or if you’re my dad, reading whilst FaceTiming me. Takes a lotta guts for a man to read the author’s newsletter in front of her. She knows where he lives. She, as in, Olivia Wilde.
Just throwin it out there, but I’m gonna continue writing this weekly. It helps me figure out what’s working and what’s not, and I love sitting in a coffee shop with my laptop because people think I’m a busy woman and that I’m writing so many emails. PLUS, you have no reason to complain about continuing to get this in your email (or your Substack app if you’re a real one) because it’s free. So this is a win for all of us and Great Britain.
Off-topic (isn’t everything you write off-topic, kerry), but as I was writing this, I got an email notification from Talkspace, which is an online therapy company that I’ve never actually used because I didn’t know I was subscribed to it. But the email was reminding me to “remember 9/11,” which is so funny because this company’s goal is to help you destress and not be anxious. But instead, they would prefer I remember 9/11. Thank you for the 10 am 9/11 reminder, Talkspace.
But yeah, I’m not afraid to say it: I’m proud of the fact that I’ve kept up with this lil thang. I’m happy that it’s made some people laugh and some people cry and some people want to never speak to me again. I feel like the me from a year ago would be looking down on the me today like a mother looks at her kids when they say their first swear word. I wish there was a photo to explain this. Oh! There is:
This really is so fun to write, and I appreciate everyone who reads it. And I also appreciate everyone who pretends to read it. And I also appreciate everyone who’s about to START reading it! You know who you are. Isn’t it so fun to read things that aren’t about the world ending? Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, girly. We don’t know how we’re ending this one, yet.
Well, I’m not gonna make this long because otherwise, no one will read it because it only takes, like, five minutes to get your coffee, and I only want people reading this when they’re waiting for their coffee order. Seriously, if you’re reading this in any other scenario, you might as well unsubscribe.
Thank you again for reading my newsletter! Perhaps one day, when I’m old and not grey because I’m technically a redhead and historically will not go grey for centuries, I’ll finally circle back to the most important question of all: did the Queen read my newsletter?
movie rec: Bohemian Rhapsody because of Queen
music rec: Queen because of the Queen
book rec: any book positively speaking about Princess Diana
newsletter rec: Circle Back
friend rec: me, again
What a perfect symbiotic relationship, Kerry! You need to write and we need to read a clever, witty post every week! Thanks for a great year and all the entertaining posts to come!
A FEAT! Long live Circle Back!