Blog (13 wpm)

 

…turning thoughts into print 13 words per minute

End-of-Year Vibes: Reflecting on Burnout and New Beginnings

It's the end of the year--a time of reflection. I kind of hate that. Why? While it's a good thing to remember all I have to be thankful for, it's also a time when I think about things I did not do or could’ve done better. This last month in particular, I haven’t done much. Actually, the last two months have probably been unproductive. Maybe that's true. But maybe only if I look through it from...

read more

Don’t give up hope

The last week, I started thinking about the future. Do we know what is going to happen?  We speculate, preparing for the worst--hoping we will be pleasantly surprised when it’s “not that bad.” But what if we thought that in the big picture, this election had to happen in order for something better to come about? I don’t know exactly what that is. Again, we can speculate. Maybe the election means...

read more

Disability Pride, I have it, but what’s next?

Today is the anniversary of the signing of the Americans with disabilities act (ADA). It's a monumental day for people with disabilities. My disability became official one month after the ADA passage. Naively, I thought the ADA would protect me from discrimination and prejudice. . .If only it were that simple. Don't get me wrong; I have a deep appreciation for living with a disability with the...

read more

Celebrating Loss

I feel a bit cringy about all of the positive news regarding my memoir. Am I bragging? Showing off? Much like my post regarding authenticity, I want to acknowledge that there have been disappointments too along the way. Here are some examples: My Unexpected Life was named a Notable 100 Book in the 2023 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition but didn’t make the Top 10 in the BookLife Prize...

read more

April Events, New Review and Podcast

Happy (almost) May! This year is flying by! In the next few days, I hope to add some video details from the Author of the Month event and pictures from the LA Times Festival of Books! Both events were fantastic! More later. . . For now, I wanted to share a new review that came out from The Chrysalis BREW Project. https://bit.ly/3wcANeP I was also a guest on Set Lusting Bruce: The Bruce...

read more

An exciting April—events and podcasts

Happy Spring! I have been waiting for April for a long time. I have been chosen as the Author of the Month at San Diego Central Library! The event is free! Register here. I will also be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California, April 20-21, 2024! I’ll be there along with many other Acorn—my publisher—authors! Admission to the country’s largest festival...

read more

What’s New?

LOTS! The following are some of the cool things I have done/accomplished in 2024 so far! First, I read an excerpt of My Unexpected Life at the San Diego Public Library's 2024 Local Author Showcase! Here's the video. O One week later, My Unexπected Life received a Gold...

read more

Now and then

When I became a Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), ambassador in 2020, I was in the middle of writing my memoir My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis. Although I knew my book about living with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), would one day be published, I wondered what I had to contribute to the group. At the FARA event in Anaheim, I enjoyed meeting people with FA who could...

read more

What makes me uncomfortable…

I don't always find talking about myself comfortable. That's a little weird coming from a person who wrote a memoir that included some embarrassing moments. My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis has been out in the world for three months as of this post. And I am still getting used to promoting myself. While I have tried to keep up on social media, I haven't been as aggressive...

read more

To Cure or Not To Cure

Many people think, as a person with a disability, the thing I want the most is a cure.  For a long time, I saw “the cure” as something I clearly needed.  At 17, in 1990, newly diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare, progressive neuro-muscular disease, I would’ve pleaded for anything to “fix” me. Life as a wheelchair user scared me and made me think the life I had planned, moving out of...

read more

Triggers and treats

Okay, this post is about three days too late for that title. . but it works. I returned from my 18-day trip to Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, exhausted. But also proud. Though the main purpose of the trip was to sell My Unexpected Life, which I did, I also met new friends and saw old friends—some of whom I have not seen since the 90s! Mostly in the Midwest, I got to reminisce about...

read more

Don't miss out! Sign up today to receive my latest posts and book updates.

Don't miss out! Sign up today to receive Jeniffer's latest posts, book updates, and as a bonus, you will get a link to her Spotify playlist (includes all the music referenced in the book).

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Share This
Skip to content