Why Subscribe?
If you like the idea of maximalist, unflinching, darkly humored essays on the strange, painful work of becoming. That includes gender, desire, sex, death, addiction, recovery, embodiment, and the rollercoaster feedback loop rides we go on as we discover who we are.
Who Is This For?
Anyone navigating changes, feeling stuck, sobriety, transition, grief, long bus stop waits, encounters with the devil and generally curiosity about the human condition.
Ethnographic Guesswork:
You’re queer and/or trans
You’re an addict of any shape, size or deviance.
You’re a Jungian shadow worker, mythological longshore woman, or cute, lesbian oyster farmer.
You’re engaged in the beautiful, messy, curious journey of life: whether you’re stuck in fetid, bogs of transition; your head’s in the salmon-pink clouds of a fantasy that’s quietly killing you; or you’ve evolved to a place that feels more comfortable, but something’s still insidiously draining your energy.
What People Are Saying
If you like what you find here, I would love for you to share that appreciation so I can add it here with a link to your publication! I ask only that your feedback is honest.
…the way you write about your life like a novella, i think it’s so profound…you have a flow like your mind is the main character of a novel but it doesn't feel forced, it's still so detailed with personal experiences. it hooked me because of that (Eve, A Great Author on Substack)
Who Am I?
I’ve been knocking around since the middle of England jettisoned me from the womb of one its natives, a borderline personality disordered train-wreck of a darling mother whose tenderly maladaptive embrace I process extensively in my writing.
I meandered through theology at Oxford University, a masters in international human rights law, depraved drug, sex, love, [insert any] addictions until I pitched my sober, lesbian, transgender tent inside the creative, coaching end of addiction and mental health space. I’ve helped billionaires, rock stars, parents and kids navigate addiction’s untidy basements.
Now I talk about all the chaos, darkness, and light inside the crucible of a Los Angeles-based life.
Where To Start?
Good question. Here’s some of the subjects I write about:
Bad Habits, Chaos & Addiction
Recovery & Embodiment
Trans/Gender Identity
Love, Sex & Desire
How My Mother’s Suicide Affected Me
https://hanaleyland.substack.com/t/the-twitter-troll-series
What Do Paying Subscribers Get?
For now, the serotonin boost of knowing you’re supporting a trans creative in a precariously fucked up time in world history. Soon:
deeper dives into the insight and theory behind the essays
specific prompts and exercises to go deeper in your work of becoming
access to DMs for feedback or insights on your own life’s up and downs
special events
first access to the small number of coaching slots and groups I run that offer deeply personal, collaborative insights into your own work of becoming: life changes, grief, gender transition, addiction, and a hand-hold through the shadow realm. Coaching, not therapy; creative, not boring; integrated within your life, and not confined to a fifty-minute Zoom.
Stay In The Loop
I post essays once weekly - twice if I’m feeling spicy - and notes (questions, thought fixations, joys, frustrations) daily.
Subscribing means you won’t miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
Join the crew
Be part of a community of people who share your interests - I’ll definitely be recommending and re-stacking people I love who, by some process of derivation, you might too. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
Who I’m Reading
