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.

Monday, December 30, 2024

Remembering

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The New Year's song "Auld Lang Syne" asks whether old acquaintances should be forgotten. Maybe because I'm a memoirist, I ...

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Grateful

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It is 4:18 am and I am grateful. Grateful my dogs are sleeping in their crates. Grateful my husband is snoring next to me in bed. I rarely h...

Friday, December 20, 2024

Sitting

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I'm up. Anxious. Worried, thinking what if Merry doesn't make it through the surgery? My twin told me a few days ago that whatever ...

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Love sweet love

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Yesterday, was a hard day. The wind blew over furniture that almost crushed my dogs. I turned my head for an instant. And a planter came dow...

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

The light

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It's dark. The wind howls. A generator shrieks In the distance. It's 3 am. We have no power. No electricity. Southern Californ...

Monday, December 9, 2024

The Corner

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I know, I haven't posted for a bit. I've been finishing up a class for my MFA, and work's been crazy. I've also been dealing...

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Stress Decompress

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I am learning that I don't always handle stress well. I thought I was okay. Then work turned into a chaotic mess. And when it got even m...

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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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