2025's Top 10 Essays
Catch your breath, grab a coffee, and catch up
“Like” a post about posts? Well hell, why not? Here’s curated guaranteed value, what’s not to like about that? Your like puts all this goodness in front of other eyes (via the Great God Algorithm) so it’s a positive kindness to humanity :-)
I am sleeping in, groggy with unsuitable food, and awash with unanswered emails. Happy New Year.
I had the quietest New Year for a quarter of a century: with all my grown offspring elsewhere, it was just me, our arthritic dog, and a husband slipping into delirium. And Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, with an impressive Lulu demonstrating that at 77 you can still be bursting with life force, if you’re doing what you love. The feverish husband murmured, “I need to follow the Lulu book of exercise.” He’s recovering now.
Over Christmas, the only writing I do is journalling, so weekly essays will resume next week. Year-end is for stock-taking, so I’ve tallied up responses to 2025’s weekly output. I present here, for your pleasure, the most popular essays of the year as ranked by combined likes, comments and subscriptions inspired. In reverse order:
10. Personal archaeology digs up a destructive vow
My Valentine’s Day post. After four decades attempting to convey my love for my brother (and the consequences of his death), I achieved a literary retelling that really pleased me. This process feels complete now.
9. Feminist sass shuts down a misogynist troll
There is so much joy to be had in fierce feminist humour that I might have to go and read this one again myself. Honestly, it’s almost worth annoying immature men for the comedy value. What’s more, it worked as an exorcism. The key target of this piece commented one final time, then vanished in a puff of smoke.
8. Embarrassing my husband in the New York Times
No question at all, my highlight of the year was getting a piece published in the popular Modern Love column of the New York Times. It brought in 700 new subscribers, and the bump in paid subscribers made me a Substack Bestseller. I got the news of my badge on a gloriously sunny day at a beach hut I’d hired with friends, on my childhood beach in West Mersea. A day, a milestone, and a husband to treasure. Once I’d apologised to him (in this essay) for making him sound like the kind of man your friends warn you about!
7. A talented friend’s funeral brings imposter syndrome
“Like” this post to extinguish your imposter syndrome forever! Okay, maybe not. But anything’s worth a try, right? Exploring how hard it can feel in “those rooms” when you come from no money and an abusive past: from the breathtakingly arrogant shits (looking at you, Ted Hughes Winner) to those who have lifted me up and twirled me around. Find your Inner Suzi!
6. Feminist uplift: survivors evolve into thrivers
“Unlike the peppered moth, turning dark to match our polluted world won’t save us from predators.” There’s possibly nothing I love more than combining feminism, evolution theory and social commentary. Low on humour, but high on oomph.
5. Manifesting a major book deal by goofing off
This may be my favourite title. The concision. The misdirect! And underneath it, happily, a tale that’s worth the click. One of several manifestation stories I told this year (as I decided to brave coming out on the spiritual stuff). Reminding myself that I know what to do, I just have to do it!
4. Disowning the country of my birth… with considerable difficulty
Humour, horror, a full-scale breakdown in front of authority figures to mark the end of several years of bureaucratic stress. America, I didn’t want to dump you, and you cost me a ton of money, but no one should stay in an abusive relationship.
3. When stating scientific facts makes you afraid, you know society is fucked
Thank god for humour and storytelling skills, or I mightn’t have come through this one alive. Leaning on my biology degree and genetics specialism, I try to put some misinformation to bed. People said it was helpful. Hurrah!
2. My favourite piece of published writing this year
“All that winter, I picked up the kids with bare arms.” I wrote this as a prose poem. I revised it relentlessly for rhythm: much of it was my favoured, familiar cadence, iambic pentameter. The emotional heart of this disguised poem stretched out to touch all of us who became, literally, sick of abuse. The voiceover was so important to me that I involved my (performance director) husband for feedback. One to listen to.
1. Funny, fierce feminism comes out on top
Poor Jamie! I loved this pic so much, I just wanted to use it. And is there better proof that “feminist” doesn’t mean man-hater when there I am snuggled up with one? Obviously, a really clickable title, but this one hooked and reeled ALL the way in.
Notes taken, friends. I’ll be doing a lot more fierce, funny feminism in the coming year. And something new for paid subscribers to thank you for keeping the lights on: some regular deep dives into poetry, just for the love of it (and if you write, for inspiration too: yes, there will be prompts).
Thank you so much for being here, for supporting and encouraging me, for letting me know that my words are landing and have value. There are now getting close to 6,000 of you (more than doubled in a year), and when we get to 10K, the magic book deal fairy appears!
(Kidding, she can come any time).
Let me know what you came for and what you’ve loved, so I can better serve you.
May all blessings find their way to your door.
You’re one of my fave essayists! Happy new year!
Pleased to say I've read almost all of these and I'm pretty sure my "likes" are among all those counts! Congrats on a huge year on Substack while many others are struggling and stagnating. Honestly, watching your journey from getting fired to getting fired up and finding your spark has been awe inspiring! Looking forward to what's to come ❤️