Life of JEM: My Life In The Inland Empire

A BLOG ABOUT THE ZANY CHILDHOOD AND ADULT ADVENTURES OF A GIRL FROM THE INLAND EMPIRE WHO MOVED OUT OF THE INLAND EMPIRE ONLY TO END UP BACK IN THE INLAND EMPIRE.

Saturday, August 30, 2025

Sometimes

I've been overcome with anxiety recently. It has always waxed and waned for me, but with work, the world, and all the pressure I put on ...

Friday, August 29, 2025

Check out JEM's podcast

In her podcast, JEM interviews Writer & Professor Alex Espinoza, author of The Sons of El Rey (Simon & Schuster, 2024), a sweeping f...

Saturday, August 16, 2025

Forever

I'm doing an event at a brewery that's music and literature where I might do harmony on a Beatles song with a friend. I'm not a ...

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Is the rule of law dead?

I read the news and I'm terrified. The erosion of our civil liberties is happening. The Nation just published an article stating the rul...

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Dry eye

It's almost six am. I'm thinking of all of the departed: about my dad John, my father in law Alberto, my brother in law Gabe, and th...

Friday, August 8, 2025

A Carrie Girl in the IE

Anyone who knows me well, ahem my husband, knows I watch shows on repeat. Gilmore Girls, West Wing, Lost, and the original Sex and the City ...

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

524 in 1984

It is 5:24 am. My mind is overwhelmed and I'm very anxious. I have to register for school, and I'm locked out. Our school changed th...

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About Me

Juanita E. Mantz (JEM): JEM's life story is the stuff that memoirs are made of. JEM went from punk rock high school dropout to corporate lawyer to rock star deputy public defender and nonfiction writer. JEM's stories, blog and video podcast document her journey so take a look! Her YA memoir, "Tales of an Inland Empire Girl", is available via Los Nietos Press (and through all national retailers). Her book tells the poignant story of her chaotic YA life growing up in the IE. Her chapbook, "Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender, or how I became a punk rock lawyer", was also released in Aug 2021 by Bamboo Darts Press. JEM is married to her wonderful husband Adrian who is a dentist. They have two Shih Tzus, Frodo and Chewbaca (Chewie to his friends). Her work has been published in Aljazeera, The Acentos Review, The Dirty Spoon Radio Hour, Entropy, As/Us, Inlandia, & Mutha magazine, among others. Go to her author website for more info at https://juanitaemantz.com. JEM is in the creative writing MFA low residency program at UNO. She has presented at AWP, Beyond Baroque and the UCR Punk Conference.

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