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, September 27, 2021

As I Lay...

As I lay here, not much I can do but think. Watch television, read, sleep and dream. It's an odd time. I have a couple weeks to ready fo...

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Never mind

Hello. They say physical suffering creates a deeper consciousness. Now my suffering is relative friends. I realize this. And everyone suffer...

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Wake up

It's 4 am. I went to bed in pain, but woke up feeling better physically, but stuck in a nightmare. I had nightmares a lot when I was a l...

Monday, September 20, 2021

Destination unknown

This morning, I'm listening to Eckhart Tolle. His voice calms me. I'll be out of pocket soon having surgery. It's not fun or con...

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Boundaries

I learned something this week. Boundaries are hard. People like to cross them. I've never been good at boundaries. I wish I had learned ...

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Finding myself (spoiler alert, I wasn't lost)

Yesterday, I spoke to a group of students about resilience. They seemed into it. They had so many questions about my trajectory from punk ...

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Constellation

Early this morning, I stepped outside to look up at the dark sky contrasting against the stars. The constellations twinkled. I blinked. I bl...

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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 chapbook, "Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender, or how I became a punk rock lawyer", will be released in Aug 2021 by Bamboo Darts Press. Her YA memoir, "Tales of an Inland Empire Girl", is forthcoming as well. 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, The James Franco Review, As/Us, Lifetime (online), Inlandia, Mutha and Bitch magazine, amongst 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.

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