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, March 7, 2014

Gravity II

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Some might start the day by saying thank god it's Friday but I won't because I have a sad day ahead with my friend Felicia's fun...

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Gravity

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I watched Gravity last night. I needed to divorce myself from reality and lose myself in a movie. Within minutes, I was lost in the stars ...

Monday, February 10, 2014

This is it or is it?

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It pisses me off that the old saying, the one that says that youth is wasted on the young, is too true. Most days, I want to throw off my s...

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Letting Go

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I am not adept at letting go (or adept at not letting go). Instead of shrugging the bad situations off, many of them petty and trivial thin...

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Feminism Scheminism

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I have always considered myself an independent woman. I grew up blue collar and put myself through undergraduate and law school by waiting ...

Saturday, January 11, 2014

A Mantz Christmas Story (Part 3): The Soapbox Episode

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Growing up, my parents usually fought on Christmas. Something would always go wrong. Dad would drink too much or Mom would get mad about s...

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Why we all wanted to be Molly

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I am watching Pretty in Pink for the twenty-something (understatement) time. Pretty in Pink from 1986 is the seminal outcast movie. In the...

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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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