Jennie Withers
My greatest reward, and my greatest challenge, is being a mom. I am an English teacher by profession, and a writer by passion. I live, work, and play in Boise, Idaho. I believe we all have a story to tell, and my hope is that by sharing mine, I can help individuals navigate life a little easier, and perhaps feel a little less.... more
My greatest reward, and my greatest challenge, is being a mom. I am an English teacher by profession, and a writer by passion. I live, work, and play in Boise, Idaho. I believe we all have a story to tell, and my hope is that by sharing mine, I can help individuals navigate life a little easier, and perhaps feel a little less alone on the journey.
My first real writing project, Hey, Get a Job! came about because I needed a lesson plan. I thought teaching my Technical Reading and Writing students how to fill out a job application would be fabulous. I’m all about the “beg, borrow, and steal” theory of education, but when I went searching for lessons on applications, or anything else related to first jobs, I found nothing suitable for teens. I went to employers who hire kids, and I took the information out there for adults and made it consumable for teens. When I finished, I realized I had written more than a lesson plan. I wrote a book.
By far my longest and most arduous project is my memoir, A Backpack, a Eurorail Pass, and Some Serious Baggage. Travelers, like writers, believe in the power of setting. Particularly when they are twenty-two. I thought of traveling Europe with two close friends as an escape from my conservative Mormon upbringing and the pressures of conforming to a religion I did not believe in. I discovered that freedom means more than being worldly, having a guilt free good time, and finding the perfect pint of ale. I am looking forward to publishing this book in July of 2018 and helping others deal with the baggage of abuse, grief, and sexual orientation.