is this what you want?

VIEW ON WEB MY WEBSITE INSTAGRAM RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL Let me reintroduce myself... Hi friends, I'm Christa (they/them) the writer behind is this what you want?, a newsletter that started on Substack as a wishlist type publication, and has expanded to topics pertaining to writing and literature, relationships/relational healing, psychology, healthcare, disability justice, decolonization, pop culture, travel, food and more. If you're intrigued by hot takes and raw missives about the world...

i'm alive, i promise Hi all, I told myself that I'd write this because I've been avoiding it for weeks now. The last you heard of me, I'd gotten surgery and I've spent the last month and a half recovering and re-learning what it means to live in this body now that I chucked an organ out of it. To be honest with you, never been one to have a consistent public writing practice. Even the first iterations of this newsletter slowed down when I realized I didn't have anything interesting to say....

ask me about my uterus This Is Fine GIF by I Heart Guts I've spent the last few days in an opioid-induced haze, slipping in and out of slumber to laze around the house. Despite the bitter cold, I strap myself into my abdominal binder and insist on taking a short walk around the block to expedite the healing process somehow. (I’m told walking helps with circulation but also mitigates anesthesia gas through toots or burps.) For the next month and a half (most likely longer) under no...

hope is not a strategy! but it will help us mobilize the masses for the future It’s been a minute since I’ve sent something out to you, I know. To be honest, friends, I’ve been busy fighting fascism and my inner demons. Both are a bitch, preventing me from doing what I love most: writing! This might be raw, but that’s what this newsletter is about—the unvarnished shit that comes out of my brain and straight into your inbox—so here’s one about what I’ve been up to, some good news (on the NYC...

VIEW ON WEB MY WEBSITE INSTAGRAM RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL let's talk about it Hi Reader, I have to address the obvious: ITWYW is no longer on substack. The great migration has begun. I've done this before--I moved to Beehiiv, but I realized that I'd be falling into similar traps. A friend suggested I use Kit (formerly ConvertKit) and I'm enjoying the new customizations, but I hope that you'll be able to come along with me. Given the enshittification of most social media platforms, this felt like...

how to pretend to have your shit together amidst a hellscape Housekeeping + Cool Things— Before we get to this month’s missive, I wanted to share some of the cool things I’ve been up to behind the scenes. This one’s a long post (I got the near email length limit bar up on the screen—another milestone to celebrate for the year! Haven’t received one of these since 2024 lol) so if it gets cut off in your inbox, click through to read on the website. I’m Blood Tree Literature’s new CNF Editor!...

I’m a working writer now? self portrait of the artist in plumbing distress (have mercy!), chicago, 2025 Dear friends, September is the only month where, with the exception of a work trip1, I’m stuck at home. Strangely, I’m fine with this. Half this year, I haven’t been home and my status as Dog Father is suffering because of it. Now that my spouse is traveling for work too, I can re-claim my status as the favorite dog parent. While he’s off serving his tech overlords, I can work on writing...

how to travel while hating your passport note: hi, bitches (friends? i don’t know. i’m feeling provocative, but want to stay friendly and approachable. i promise i mean ‘bitch’ as a term of endearment) i am BACK FROM A CRUISE WITH MY PARENTS AND SPOUSE! it was wild in many ways, and i have a lot of thoughts about it. so many that i’m not writing in proper grammar and syntax (idc, tumblr-era aesthetics and e.e. cummings subversion 5eva) plz forgive me and enjoy xoxo gossip girl oh wait, are...

how i trick my brain into writing essays Real, genuine long-form essays take space and time to ferment. I start an essay with real fervor, and months later, realize I either lost the plot or need to let it sit. Sometimes it's because I haven't quite processed/determined where the piece is going, or because I'm not ready to write the rest of it——I haven't lived out enough of my life to know how some pieces end. This is true of my poetry and fiction too. Most of my stories published in the past...