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, August 16, 2021

Transmission

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Yesterday afternoon, on a Sunday, I drove out to Boyle Heights in Los Angeles to start my own radio show. It was a program through the city...

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Breathless

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This last Saturday, we saw X in Orange County. It was a show that words can't do justice. I screamed myself hoarse. Danced like a mania...

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Changed

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This morning, I sat in my back yard at 5 am in a Bowie shirt and a pair of my husband's boxers. When I was a teen, I used to buy plaid ...

Friday, July 30, 2021

Watching speaking learning

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I've been working on speaking my truth. Not just in my writing. In my everyday life. Observing more. Saying less. And when I do speak up...

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Enough

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I am listening to Eckhart Tolle's podcast with Oprah about "A New Earth", his masterpiece about finding yourself, your soul. H...

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Stressing/just messing

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Yesterday, I just couldn't handle the office environment. Being in court was preferable, which is where I spent most of my morning on a...

Monday, July 26, 2021

Radio daze

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Yesterday, I was on a radio show to promote my book. The host is Gina Duran, a friend of mine who's a community activist and hosts The C...

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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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