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Janet Givens

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  • SUBSTACK
  • WELCOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • BOOKS & EVENTS
    • JANET
      • At Home on the Kazakh Steppe
      • LEAPFROG
      • Events
    • WOODY
      • MOLP
      • Kmedjzik
      • The Woonboot
      • Cargo
  • LEARN MORE
  • SUBSTACK

midlife change

29 Nov 2016

Getting Back to Center

I’ve changed my mind. I can do that, you know. I can say “no; sorry; something has changed” even after I’ve said, “Sure; I’ll do it.”  I don’t do that very often, of course, for each time I run the risk … Read More

gratitude, Janet Givens author, midlife change, serenity
13 Aug 2014

Exciting Times and An Empty Nest: My Book Launch

          So reads the official launch announcement my publisher put together for me.   It is exciting.   I am excited.   Truly. My rocket book is launched.   For the past seven years my singular … Read More

Blogging, book launch, emptiness, Janet Givens author, midlife change
5 Mar 2014

School, Part I

  This is a story of my college, Zhezkazgan Humanitarian College, where I worked for two years, teaching English to future English teachers. I joined an English department of sixteen other English teachers and spent most of my time there, … Read More

confusion, information overload, Janet Givens author, Kazakhstan, midlife change, structure of Kazakh education, Zhezkazgan
26 Jun 2013

Zhanara R

In this, the final of my Deleted Scenes this month, we meet Zhanara R, a young mother with a full-time job who was eager to practice her English with me.  In one of those serendipitous meetings where the initial idea … Read More

connection, Janet Givens author, Kazakhstan, midlife change
1 Jan 2013

Jumping Off High Dives

When I was sixteen I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and jumped — off Olympic Park’s high dive —  into twelve feet of water far below. I still have no idea why. I’d never jumped off a high … Read More

high dives, Janet Givens, Kazakhstan, midlife change, Risk

Post Archives


Books

LEAPFROG: How to hold a civil conversation in an uncivil era

“Janet’s LEAPFROG describes— in an accessible and fun way— the nuts and bolts of how to have a civil conversation…”

Click here for more on LEAPFROG

At Home on the Kazakh Steppe:A Peace Corps Memoir

Praise from Kirkus Review

“…she writes engagingly … a sharp-eyed journalist. A worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in humanitarian work.”

At Home on the Kazakh Steppe, A Peace Corps Memoir, by Janet Givens
Buy the book

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