Juanita E. Mantz ("JEM")

JEM’S YA Memoir, “Tales of an Inland Empire Girl”

Jenny, her barely-younger twin Jackie, and their baby sister Annie try to navigate their parents’ troubles. The story zooms in on Jenny as she descends from stellar student to angry punk rock dropout, hiding in shame under the high school bleachers as her twin sister graduates from high school. It’s the story of Jenny hitting rock-bottom, and finally, slowly picking herself up and starting to put the pieces of her life back together.

JEM’s AWARD-WINNING Chapbook Published by Bamboo Dart Press

JEM’s chapbook “Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender or how I became a punk rock lawyer” won gold at the International Latino Book Awards in the Mariposa category for best new book, English nonfiction. Both her chapbook and her memoir “Tales of an Inland Empire Girl” received an honorable mention in the Autobiography category!

A multi-genre chapbook containing memoir pieces, social justice essays and poetry, The chapbook Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender (or how I became a punk rock lawyer) describes the author’s love of punk rock and her quest to challenge the system of mass incarceration as a deputy public defender and the intersection between punk rock and public defense. VIEW TRAILER!

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Writer, creative, playwright, memoirist, attorney, teacher, blogger, performer & podcaster! All around music loving punk/post punk girl who loves coffee. Buy me an espresso!