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Janet Givens

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

Mistakes

30 Dec 2015

Happy New Year Everyone: Embracing my 2015 regrets

  It’s December 30, which means 2015 will last for just two more days: today and tomorrow.   Personally, I’m looking forward to the change.   For me, the new year represents a chance to put behind me the many missteps … Read More

Bad decisions, failure, Learning from our mistakes, Missteps, Mistakes, New beginnings, Regret
24 Jun 2015

The Sheep’s Head

  Today I offer the last of my Deleted Scenes.  But, to go out with a bang, this scene was deleted twice, a few years apart. Can you tell which came first? (ostensibly the weaker of the two) All those guessing will be put … Read More

Janet Givens author, Mistakes, the sheep's head tradition
27 Aug 2014

THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

  This is a post about a social movement, one of my favorite topics. Q: What is the difference between a social movement and a mental illness? A: The number of people involved.   I remember a chilly weekend in New … Read More

ALS, ALS ice bucket challenge, alsa.org, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Janet Givens author, making mistakes, Mariah Gladis, Mistakes, Pete Frates, social movements
4 Sep 2013

How Different Cultures View Intellectual Struggle

  In honor of a new school year starting, I wanted to share this recent audio post from NPR. This “Your Health” segment  first aired on November 12, 2012, but was replayed this year on Labor Day Monday.   It’s … Read More

Janet Givens author, Mistakes
7 Aug 2013

Disappointment

“Wherever we go,” I’d declared to Woody at the start of our Peace Corps application process, “I want a nice beach, friendly bugs, and a good mattress.” I figured I could make friends for America without having to suffer.   … Read More

Differences, friendship, Janet Givens author, Kazakhstan, Mistakes
15 Mar 2013

Mistakes

  Welcome to today’s blog: mistakes. We’ve all made them, suffered through them, regretted them, and obsessed over them. And, I trust, learned from them, even laughed at them.     I made another one last week when this post launched … Read More

"to err is human", auto accidents, Blog, making mistakes, Mistakes, recipe mistakes, typographical errors
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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
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© 2025 Janet Givens