56 Comments
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Nisha Mody's avatar

hi hi!

I'm Nisha, currently living on Tongva land aka Los Angeles. I followed you a long time ago on Twitter or IG, and then as I was going to library school I found out you were too, which was super exciting. Right now my cats are bringing me so much joy. I aspire to be them every day! I'm also loving listening to audiobooks.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Nisha!!! So glad you're here! I love what you do! I had no idea you did library school!!! Whoa! Also, yay for cats! They're always bringing the joy!

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Nisha Mody's avatar

Yesss! I was in libraries for almost 5 years before I decided to do coaching and consulting for libraries. I’m so glad I still get to be in that world in a way that feels more aligned 💜💜💜

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Oh wow, that’s awesome!

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caitlin elizabeth's avatar

Hi Lachrista, I'm Caitlin, currently living in Sebastopol, CA. I've been following your Instagram for a long time and I love your Substack!! Always so insightful and validating. I always get excited when I see your name in my inbox! I'm getting peace and joy at the moment from reading and spending time in the redwoods and at the beach on the Sonoma Coast, and ironically, from taking a break from Instagram :)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Caitlin! Thank you so much for being here!!! I love your Substack as well! Oooh spending time in the redwoods sounds so delicious! I've always wanted to see them up close and personal! And YES to taking a break from IG. Ooof.

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Kate Jordan's avatar

Hi there, my name is Kate. I've been moving around a bunch this past year, but soon to settle again in Savannah, GA. I honestly cannot remember how I found you, but I am glad I did. Your thoughtful newsletter is consistently one of my favorite reads! Right now, peace and joy is housesitting for my mom in Northwest Connecticut. She lives along a river and my only responsibility this week is to pet an ancient cat and sit in the sun :)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Kate! Thanks so much for being here and for commenting! That's lovely that you're housesitting for your mom right now. And how nice to just love on an ancient cat and sit in the sun! <3

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Santiag Chlan's avatar

Hi everybody, I'm Santiag, from Argentina (at South America); my personal account on Instagram is ssantiag.chlan so get along an follow me. I found you because of Substack recomendations; nowadays my peace and joy it's blooming from my med school and my political side. We have lots of riots and protests here, so there is a lot to fight for)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Santiag! So great that you’re here. Thanks for being a subscriber!

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Iz Netto's avatar

Hi Lachrista and everyone, I'm Iz, living (mostly) in Toronto. I found you on IG, probably when someone shared one of your posts. I signed up for Substack specifically to follow you and Offshoot/A Growing Culture. I'm getting my peace and joy from planting a shared garden in my friends' house (we're excited about blue kabocha pumpkins), making playlists for every occasion, fermenting veggies, (lake) beach Fridays with friends and beer, and watching Jane the Virgin with my partner (my SIL binged on it before passing away 2 years ago, so this kinda connects us to her in a weird way)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Iz! Thanks for being here and taking the time to comment! Welcome! Also, blue kabocha pumpkins sound so cool!!!! I’ve never watched Jane the Virgin. Do you recommend it?

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Iz Netto's avatar

I do! I was really surprised by how good it is as metafiction satire. It uses elements of romance writing, magical realism, and telenovela format for storytelling and narrative building, and it tells you exactly what it's doing while it's doing it. It's really endearing escapism for book nerds <3

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Caitlin's avatar

Hi Lachrista! My name is Caitlin (she/her) and I'm a flutist/flute teacher located in Montreal (Canada). I found you on Instagram a few years ago and started following your newsletter I think as soon as you posted about it. What's bringing me joy/peace right now is being outside when I can because thankfully the weather in Montreal hasn't been as atrocious as it usually is in the summer :) Unfortunately my roommate just tested positive for COVID so I won't be out and about until they're negative but I may go for walks at night just to breathe the fresh air. Thanks for all that you do, I'm a huuuge fan! <3

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Caitlin! So happy you're here and that you follow me on IG, too! Yay! Oooh, I love Montreal--only been once, but it was magical.

So sorry that you're roommate has Covid! Hoping you're able to stay healthy! Thanks again for being here and commenting <3

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Caitlin's avatar

Thank you! Oh I'm glad you enjoyed Montreal!! :) Feeling good at the moment so hopefully I remained unscathed while my roomie recovers!

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Blythe's avatar

I'm Blythe - I'm the anti-violence advocate and an Associate Lecturer in Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. I've followed you on social media for years and years and when I saw you had a Substack, I was like, "oh shit i'm definitely giving this person some money because they deserve it!" haha! My dog and books and coffee and air conditioning all bring me joy. <3

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Blythe!!! Oh yay, a fellow Wisconsinite! Welcome! Thank you so much for being here and for following me on social media, too! Your joys sound fab! <3

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Holly's avatar

i’m holly (she/her) and i live in santa barbara ca! right now i’m on summer vacation in maine with my partner, our 6 year old, and our hamster 🐹, and that is bringing me a lot of joy. i love the water and the green, and i love that it’s nice and cool here. mt desert island is one of my favorite places in the world, and i feel so lucky that i get to be here this summer, as it’s been quite a while since we could travel.

i found you on IG and when you announced you were creating a substack i joined right away. i prefer the format over here, and enjoy engaging with my fave creators. IG can be so mean at times, and also the algorithm sucks.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Holly! Oooh summer vacay in Maine sounds glorious! I bet it's beautiful there right now. I've never been, but maybe someday!

Thank you so much for being here. And yeah, IG can be a bit intense and shitty! I'm so glad you're here in this space!

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Kathy Fletcher's avatar

Hi. I'm Kathy. From New Hampshire

I think I found you on Instagram. And, I really like what you have to say about libraries and librarianship as well as feminism.

Meditation brings me peace. Great friends bring me joy.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Kathy! Thanks for being here. Meditation also brings me peace--when I make the time to do it, lol!

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phezweb's avatar

How do you do the little picture/emojis?

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phezweb's avatar

I'm just going by phezweb. Live in Wichita, KS, but have lived in other countries and states due to father being army vet.

I blog on here and love Robert Reich. It was in the suggested blog list I believe.

Books, books, so many books. My vision is already horrible and I feel like it's getting worse, all my texts on my phone have to be bigger and I need book lights, ha. I love reading, I'm so glad I got back into it. Usually romances, thriller/suspense/mystery, psychological thrillers are my favorite

It's real nice to chat with like minded individuals and feel safe knowing you won't be immediately attacked for your opinions :) I REALLY want a book club. I'm in a "book club" but usually only a couple of us read it and we just go out. I really want to talk to people, face to face, in a circle, drinking wine. Wow, I sound like I'm already 60 and I'm 36.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi phezweb! Glad you're here! Oooh I love a good psychological thriller book. I need to read more of those. Any recs?

An in-person book club with like-minded folks sounds lovely. Hopefully that can happen someday!

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phezweb's avatar

I have a ton of recommendations. I typed them all that, then my computer did something dumb and it disappeard, so might shorten it now since I was probably rambling.

B. A. Paris BLOWS my mind. Her books "Behind Closed Doors", "The Breakdown", "Bring me Back", wow, I had intense reactions. Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown have got to be some of the best I've ever read. "Prisoner" comes out in November, and it sounds great. She has 5 novels and I've read them all.

Ruth Ware is awesome, she has a ton of good ones, "Death of Mrs. Westaway", "Woman in Cabin 10", "Turn of the Key", "The Lying Game", I still have a few more to read and her brand new book "It Girl" came out today.

Gilly MacMillan, her new book is "The Long Weekend", but she has a lot of good ones, "I Know you Know", "The Perfect Girl", "Odd Child Out", "The Nanny", I think I've read all of hers except the new one.

Lucy Foley is good, "The Paris Apartment", "The Guest List". I'm reading "Hunting Party" sometime this summer.

Lexie Elliot, "How to Kill your Best Friend" and "The French Girl" were good, so i'm reading all hers now.

Liz Nugent, another one I'm reading all, so far only read one "Lying in Wait"

I just FINALLY started "Where the Crawdads Sing" and can't wait for movie.

"The Safe Place" by Anna Downes was okay. I could be swayed to read another of hers.

Rachel Hawkins, "Reckless Girls" was awesome, next one I need to read is "The Wife Upstairs"

Sara Pinborough, Alice Feeney, new to them, but I have books ready to go.

I also just checked out "My Darling Husband" by Kimberly Belle, "An Honest Lie" by Tarryn Fisher, her books have been hit or miss for me, "Crimson Summer" by Heather Graham, and "The Echo Wife" by Sarah Gailey.

Sorry so much, damn I get excited about books. This is totally my next post.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

WHOA! Can't wait to look into all of these! Thank you so much!

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phezweb's avatar

Wow I forgot to include my cats.... I love them more than words can say

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k.a. valentine's avatar

Hello everyone!

I'm Kimberly, originally from the Midwest, though now I call Oregon home. I've been following GF for years, and Lachrista's posts are some of the few I still find valuable and not draining on Instagram, so I've loved having this newsletter system as I'm distancing myself from social media!

I'm trying to find soft, still moments during a hard summer. Right now, my joys have mostly come with snuggling my cats and dogs and decorating bookshelves in my new home. ❤️

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Holly's avatar

i am also trying to distance myself from IG & FB too, but it’s a challenge because they are created to be addictive. i’m trying to find other avenues live here on substack, or just picking up a book and reading. i’m glad i’m not the only one trying to find some balance.

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phezweb's avatar

I have family in Oregon and I lived in Seattle for a few years. It's AMAZING there. I love cats and dogs. I only have cats but I visit my sister's dogs. Animals are so awesome

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Kimberly! Thanks so much for being here. I’m so glad that you feel like my IG isn’t draining! I’m also trying to distance myself from social media and it’s hard!

Animal snuggles are the best! Decorating bookshelves also sounds fun!

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Danielle's avatar

Kia ora koutou (hello everyone)!

1. I'm Danielle, I live in Aotearoa New Zealand.

2. I've been floating around for years, I think I found out about GF back when Guerrilla Feminism was a big Facebook group. A long time ago now! I've followed GF and Lachrista across quite a few platforms (that sounds slightly creepy, not intended to be!).

3. Reading is my comfort activity. I just finished "The Surgeon's Brain" by Oscar Upperton, which is a book of poetry about Dr James Barry, a Victorian surgeon who was also a trans man. My ultimate comfort series is Lord of the Rings and I finished my yearly re-read of that a few months ago. I also really enjoy scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, but it's becoming a bit compulsive and time-wastey, so I'm trying to cut back on it. Moderation and all that!

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Danielle! Oh wow, you‘ve followed GF since the early days! That’s so rad! I’m super grateful you’re still with me!

The book you mention sounds super interesting. I’ll have to look that up.

I hear what you’re saying about TikTok. I won’t allow myself to have one (ha!), but I do love watching them when I see them posted elsewhere. Thanks for being here!

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Danielle's avatar

It's by a New Zealander so it might be a tad difficult to get hold of, but it's worth it if you do! Most that has been written about him presents him as a woman who dressed as a man to get into medicine, not as a trans man, but the author argues strongly against that and makes the case that he was a trans man. There's a line in the poem "Rorschach" that addresses this:

"Of the four possibilities of Barry's secret

- that he was a woman, that he was intersexed,

trans, or a homosexual, cisgendered male

...

- the least queer possibility is the one

that seems to have carried the day

...

and won out in popular opinion."

If you can't get hold of the book itself, one of the poems in it was published here: https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/27-11-2020/the-friday-poem-code-name-by-oscar-upperton

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Doc Gonzo's avatar

I’m Doc in Tennessee.

(Some folks call me Teacherly or Gonzo, but Doc is fine!)

I think I found you through Nisha at The Healing Hype... but I am always on the lookout for somatic/self-care/feminist content, so it could have been from any number of places!

I find joy through teaching and learning from/with my students and I find joy being in nature (as long as there aren’t too many bugs 🙃) and I find joy in really great coffee and tea and food.

Thank you for this community, Lachrista and for everything you’re doing! 🧡

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phezweb's avatar

I hate bugs. Mosquitos LOVE me.

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Doc Gonzo's avatar

😬

Bugs are definitely the thing that ruins nature for me.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Doc! Nisha is awesome!

Yes, really great coffee and tea are such small but wondrous blessings!

Thank you for being here!

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Sophia Hembeck's avatar

Hi I’m Sophia, based in Edinburgh.

I found you through substack grow and felt it resonated :)

I’m going through a bad breakup right now but seeing my friends show up for me everyday, makes me feel supported and like I’m going to be okay. I’ve also started watching Downton Abbey. Its not a great show really but the way the English repress their feelings is somehow exactly what I need right now.

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phezweb's avatar

Edinburgh! A couple of my favorite authors hail from there! I've been to a lot of European countries but never got to Scotland!

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Sophia! I’m also going through a breakup! Solidarity! Shit is TOUGH! It’s so good to have friends showing up in support. I loved Downton Abbey when it first came out. I love a lot of British shows. I find them super calming. Thanks for being here ❤️

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Steven's avatar

Steven from Long Island NY and you and a dozen other stacks were introduced to me by Substack when I signed up,

Yours was more interesting than most so I’m still here.

I’m an organic farmer and right now a lot of the results of months of hard work are starting g to bear fruit! Literally :)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Steven! Thanks for being here! Glad you’re finding it interesting. Oooh organic farming! That’s awesome! And yes, what a joy to get to see (and eat) your months of hard work!

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Daphne's avatar

Hi!

I'm Daphne from Cologne, Germany.

I've been following you on Instagram and Twitter for years now. So glad you started this newsletter as well!

I'm sharing your enjoyment of coffee and rainy weather and am also at peace when walking my dog, creating playlists, writing letters to my penpals and phoning my grandparents.

Nice to meet everyone :)

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phezweb's avatar

Nice to meet you! I was born in Nuremberg, Germany, dad was in Army. Lived there from 1985-1993ish I'd say. I went back to visit in 2009. Loved it! I love coffee and rainy weather too:)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Daphne! So glad to have you here! Thank you for being here and on my Instagram and Twitter. I appreciate it! Your joys sound lovely!

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Sueleme's avatar

Good morning!

1. My name is Sueleme (or Sway for short) and I am in Los Angeles!

2. I found you on Instagram but I cannot remember the exact moment I subscribed to your newsletter. lol

3. Painting!! It's been a difficult time these last few years and painting helps me block everything out and just be in a place where I have zero expectations and zero cares about how the end product will turn out. It's become my safe space to express myself in a messy, illogical, liberated way. I absolutely love it!

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Sueleme! Thanks for being here and thanks for following me on Instagram, too! Oooh painting! That sounds lovely. What a great hobby!

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Alex Dobrenko`'s avatar

Hiya -

1. Alex and I'm in los angeles

2. Honestly I have no idea - I went on a manic subscribe to all substacks phase that included subscribing to all of the recommended newsletters and I guess you popped up but I'm glad you did lol I dig the vibes here

3. My 1 year old son he's such a goober I love him so much when he yawns it sounds like the quietest little scream and fills me with indescribable joy every time

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Hi Alex! Thanks so much for commenting. Glad you're here. Awww, little kid yawns are the best! I feel the same way about when my 15 month nephew yawns. It's so damn cute!

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Diana Oppenheim's avatar

1. Diana and living in Hamtramck, MI (in Detroit l)

2. I know about you from THE COREPOWER DAYS which is another lifetime ago.

3. I’ve been feeding a litter of stray kittens in my backyard and it’s been giving me so much joy. It’s taking awhile but they’re slowly getting used to me and yesterday one came up and sat pretty close to me after dinner.

Qs. For you:

Have you ever done EMDR? If so, what was your experience?

Fave show you’re watching (aside from golden girls lol)!!

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phezweb's avatar

All I saw was "litter of stray kittens" and my heart burst into flames. I love kittens :)

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

Yay Diana!!! Thank you for commenting!

Um, the litter of stray kittens sounds ADORABLE!!!

To answer your q's:

I haven't done EMDR... yet! I really want to try it. I've heard great things about it from people I know who have done it. Fave show I'm watching: I've started to watch shows from the early 2000s, so I just finished "Revenge," which was pretty bad, but entertaining. I'm just starting "Everwood." I didn't watch either of these when they originally came out.

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Lachrista Greco's avatar

I'll start it off!

What’s your name and where are you located?

Lachrista, Madison WI!

How did you find me/this publication?

Obvi, it's me, so, yeah.

What’s bringing you joy/peace right now?

Watching videos of my cute nephew, coffee, grey/rainy weather, friends

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phezweb's avatar

I love grey/rainy weather. Unfortunately it's 91-103 degrees here for next 10 days. Why am I still here.

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