JENNA TICO: CANCER MOON
This episode of Big Blend Radio features Jenna Tico, who discusses her new memoir, “Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life.” Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
Organized through the cycles of the moon, Jenna Tico’s personal humor essays and poetry collection, “Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life” (She Writes Press, September 17, 2024 – a full harvest supermoon!), vulnerably and jovially guides readers through the turbulent twenties – aka the “age of wallowing.” Jenna invites women to embrace this necessary phase of life, helping them understand their self-worth, sexuality, and empowering them to become who they want to be in the world. “Own your weird!”
“It is so much, this human thing.”
Growing up in Santa Barbara, California, way too close to the Hollywood dream machine, Jenna Tico’s self-esteem wanes to invisibility when her identity becomes enmeshed with validation from celebrities and spiritual F-boys . . . until she claws her way back to empowerment. Here, Tico shares vulnerable personal essays, stories, and poetry—all grouped following the cycles of the moon—chronicling her journey from late bloomer to full grownup. Observing the world of twenty-something relationships from perspectives as diverse as a bachelorette houseboat, a music festival afterparty, and the airplane ride to a death bed, she validates the experiences of women who feel like they have been abandoned by the generation that came before them. Her self-reflective stories encourage healthy life choices for young women without telling them where, what, or how to live their lives—and always with a healthy dash of humor on the side.
Jenna Tico survived the best years of her life by incessantly journaling, scribbling poetry, and distracting herself from her questionable choices with potato chips and excellent friendships. Jenna is a multi-disciplinary artist, group facilitator, and ninth-generation resident of Santa Barbara, CA. She graduated with honors from Scripps College and spent the next ten years working as a dance instructor, grant writer, and occasional, terrible waitress. She earned her counseling certification in 2016 and is passionate about creating spaces for the intersection of art and healing. She is the founder and host of Backbone Storytelling, a platform for true, body-centric stories told live. She lives in Santa Barbara with her family. More at: https://www.jennatico.com/
