My Vision and Mission
Hi! I'm Jen...
I am a researcher, writer, yoga instructor, Chronic Pain and mental health guide, online course creator, proud mother, wife of over 35 years, photographer, perennial student, farmer, Rottie nut, poker enthusiast, and lastly...Central Syndrome Sensitization sufferer.
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." —Ernest Hemingway
Literary Interests and Projects
Through memoir, I explore individual and group identity themes, including culture, class, language, religion, sexuality, beauty standards, work, and family. I am fascinated by how these categories can bring us together or tear us apart.
I want to continue studying and learning how to build a new identity after loss and adversity. I want to understand how we can dare to hope for belonging again despite pain and failure. Some call this resilience or courage. I want to better understand and help encourage this personality trait in my writing.
I am also fascinated by brain science and how it affects mental health, addictions, and physical pain.
Current Research
Literary Projects
Literary Projects
A Study: Bibliotherapy In Groups to Relieve Chronic Pain
Literary Projects
Literary Projects
Literary Projects
Spiraling Upwards Towards Hope:
A Memoir of Chronic Pain and Healing
Academic Degrees
- Masters, Creative Writing, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Ongoing
- The Therapeutic Writing Institute, Certified Therapeutic Writing Facilitator, Denver, CO, Ongoing
- Masters, Library and Information Science, Valdosta State University, 2014, Capstone Project: Bibliotherapy for Mental Health, 2014
- Masters, Business Administration, Ohio University, 2004
- Journalism, Bachelors, Loyola University, New Orleans, 1990
Published Work
- Yontz-Orlando, Jennifer. “Community Engagement through Bibliotherapy: Three Models,” Works in Progress Poster Session. Association for Library and Information Science Education Annual Conference, 2017, January, Atlanta, GA
- Yontz-Orlando, Jennifer. “Bibliotherapy for Mental Health,” The International Research in Education Journal, 2017. International Research in Higher Education
- Bolilla – Short story fiction New Orleans Critical and Creative Arts Publication (CCAP) literary magazine ReVisions, 1994.
Community Leadership
- Current – Chronic Illness Support Leader for Lee Health, Lee Co, FL
- Current – Florida, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Family Support Group Leader and Trainer
- 2012–2018 National Alliance Mental Illness (NAMI) – Lee Co, FL, Board Member
- 2012 – Visuality- Founding Board Member – Support for LBGT youth, Lee Co, FL
Spiritual Quest
- Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, Yoga, Celtic Shamanic and Al-Anon
- Yoga Instructor in the “I AM YOGA” – Amrit Yoga – Kundalini – Lakulish Lineage
- Travels throughout the world include Europe, South America, the far East (Japan), Sivananda Ashrams, and Risho-Ko-Se-Kai, a Japanese-Buddhist sect headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Awards
- Yontz-Orlando Family, Rissho Kosei-kai Gohonzon Enshrinement, 2023
- Outstanding Volunteer Leader, NAMI, Lee 2017
- National Spectrum Scholar ALA, 2016
I am bi-lingual and bicultural, as I spent most of my youth in Colombia, South America, living with my grandparents.
My best friend was my grandmother, who taught me a strong work ethic, my family history, instilled in me a love for farming, and showed me what it is to be a strong woman despite many cultural and societal obstacles.
A few of my favorite authors are Herman Melville, Leo Tolstoy, Oscar Wilde, W. Somerset Maugham, and Franz Kafka. A few of my favorite modern memoir authors are Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, Frank McCourt, and Mary Karr. My favorite poets are Rumi, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot.
I love a great beach! I lived with my family for four years on Maui and consider it one of the greatest privileges of my life. I got to scuba dive with sharks and snorkel with sea turtles. I saw Blue Whales up close. Amazing! I miss that place.
I have a passion for yoga.
Another passion is traveling. My travels include the US, Colombia, England, Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Finland, Japan, and Brazil.
I was fortunate to meet my husband and the love of my life in high school. We have two adult children: a boy and a girl. They are my life heroes.
My gender pronouns are she/her/hers.
Follow Me on Instagram!
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