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.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Fat Girl

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I am having fat girl surgery soon. I am not ashamed of it. Some people try and hide this kind of stuff. I revel in it. I haven't be...

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Friday, January 14, 2011

Memory Box

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Today is the fifth anniversary of my dad's death. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer right before Christmas. My dad, John Wil...

1 comment:

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Breakfast at Benji's

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My mom is quitting her waitress job this week and moving in with us. We now have a matching set of moms because my mother-in-law already l...

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

A Girl's Hunger

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Food is love, it is comfort, it is joy, it is sadness. Food is childhood. In short, food is who you are (another way of saying the oft repea...

Monday, January 3, 2011

Skeletons In My Closet

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Recently, someone challenged me to write about something humiliating. Maybe I am wrong, but I think I make fun of myself more than anyone a...

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Lost and Found

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When asked if I have kids, I typically respond that I have two fur children, my Shih Tzus Frodo and Chewbaca. Oh wait, I almost forgot abou...

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Friday, December 24, 2010

A Mantz Christmas Story

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It is Christmas Eve and I am thinking of Christmases long, long ago. Maybe it was because we watched "Disney On Ice" and it remin...

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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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