A Letter from Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill

Dear Reader,

We are thrilled that our first book, All the Cool Girls Get Fired, is finally out in the world. When we (Laura Brown and Kristina O’Neill) both lost our jobs as magazine editors-in-chief in early 2022 and 2023 respectively, we could never have imagined that we’d be here today. Rather, we were on the couch, staring blankly at our bank balances and expiring healthcare plans, and, oh yeah, drinking.

 

But what got us here, and the great message of this book, is ownership, honesty, and—while it doesn’t seem like it at the time you get pink slipped—optimism. We were both very successful editors (Kristina still is!), we’d produced great work for years, and getting fired didn’t change that. We were tired of the narrative into which women have historically fallen: the self-imposed shame, the need to spin, the feeling of failure.

 

The thing is, in the current insanity of the global economy, you likely didn’t get fired because you suck at your job. You got fired because your industry is changing, morphing, or, thanks to head-spinning tech changes, simply going away.  

 

Either way, it’s beyond stressful, which is why we’re here to help: All the Cool Girls Get Fired provides you with a road map to recovery: from managing your finances, to protecting your physical and mental health, along with a ton of pragmatic tools to find the career you really want.

 

We also talk to hugely successful and inspiring women (oh, hi Oprah!), who once, like you, were fired too. Their stories will remind you that you’re not alone and fire up your dreams.

 

All the Cool Girls Get Fired is an empowering reminder that losing your job isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning.

 

Onward, Cool Girls!

Laura and Kristina