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, November 15, 2019

To sleep perchance

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I want to sleep. I want to awake at ten am not at five in the morning. On Saturday at least. They don’t tell you when you’re young, how el...

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Friday, November 8, 2019

Mercury in Retrograde

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The Mercury in Retrograde ("MIR") effect is real. I can tell you. My rudimentary explanation of Mercury in Retrograde is when the ...

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Friday, November 1, 2019

The Year Southern California Edison Killed Halloween

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Everyone cares about Christmas. And I think, Christmas is all right. I like giving gifts, watching Hallmark Christmas movies and the baby Je...

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

It’s know it’s not over

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This evening, I had leg cramps again. They started in my ankles. Then the cramps moved to my calves. I started panicking. My hand went numb....

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Here comes your man

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The pain is blinding. Hemorrhoids suck. It feels like pieces of glass are stuck in my asshole. I try and breathe my way through it, then ...

Friday, September 20, 2019

Sequins and charley horses

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Last night, I had an attack of leg cramps, what some call a charley horse. My left leg cramped and then my right. I laid in bed writhing in ...

Monday, August 26, 2019

Back to School

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In January, I will be starting school again. It is a part time, online MFA program for creative writing, one built for working professionals...

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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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