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.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

A Mess

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I am wearing slightly damp pants this morning. Actually, by now, at 6:21 a.m., they are almost dry as I sit at a coffee shop (not a new sch...

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Oh Baby

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On Wednesday we did the first IVF treatment. They inserted two embryos into my uterus. The doctor, in his typical Newport surfer meets pra...

Friday, May 2, 2014

Greens and Blues

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I am listening to the new Pixies album Indie Cindy on repeat. My favorite song is Greens and Blues. The refrain goes like this, "I...

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Saturday, April 19, 2014

My Admissions

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I am sitting in a hospital bed listening to the lady next to me cough, hack and vomit. I didn't expect to be here. It's 4 am and in...

Friday, March 14, 2014

The World According to Me

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It is midnight and I am writing while listening to the rat a tat tat of gunfire. Gunfire from the video game my husband Adrian is playing. ...

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 ...

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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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