Debut author encourages women to embrace their twenties with candor and humor

Perfect for fans of “Everything I Know About Love” by bestseller Dolly Alderton

Santa Barbara, CA – 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.

“Cancer Moon”

Jenna Tico | September 17, 2024 | She Writes Press | Memoir/Humor Essays 

Paperback | 978-1647427627 | $17.95 

“Before you freak out and burn all your bridges; before you throw your phone in the ocean and pierce your nose in the name of Satan and fuck that guy with a pet snake who doesn’t chew his food; before you throw away every item of clothing you own and then max out your only credit card on nail polish and oven fries; and before you decide that now is the time to tell your mother every single thing she has ever done that has bothered you, and then quit your job and go back to snake guy’s house, please ask yourself the following question: Do I really desire the end of society, or am I just dehydrated?”

– Jenna Tico, “Cancer Moon”  

Early Praise for “Cancer Moon”

“Fun, witty, hilarious, and refreshing! Jenna Tico has a way of transforming seemingly everyday events in extraordinary and insightful ways. “Cancer Moon” is a diverting, surefire cure for boredom and a welcome balm for the ridiculous, embarrassing and completely absurd moments in life.”

—Qin Sun Stubis, author of the multi-award-winning historical memoir “Once Our Lives: Life, Death, and Love in the Middle Kingdom”

“Tico has put her heart and soul into crafting a delightful and thought-provoking memoir, filled with candid and humorous storytelling . . . a refreshing perspective on the challenges and triumphs of young adulthood in a strong voice with a clear attitude. The structure, organized by the cycles of the moon, added an intriguing layer of symbolism and resonance to Tico’s narrative, mirroring the ebb and flow of life’s experiences. “Cancer Moon” is sure to leave readers feeling inspired and empowered to embrace their own journey with humor, self-compassion, and authenticity.”

—Readers Favorite, FIVE STARS

“A fever dream of genre and memory, reading “Cancer Moon” is like sitting barefoot and cross-legged late into the night with your wisest and funniest friend.”

—Ellen O’Connell Whittet, author of ‘What You Become in Flight’

“In contrast to many women’s memoirs reflecting on life experiences, “Cancer Moon” offers a supercharged atmosphere with its engrossing foray into action, reaction, and transformation. Sexual explorations, attitudes and ironies, and especially candid, revealing insights about relationships and personal growth permeate an evolutionary story filled with vivid encounters with all kinds of people.”

—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Jenna Tico’s book perfectly captures the humiliating, exhilarating, and painful experience of surviving your twenties. Her writing is relatable, poetic, nuanced…if you’ve been twenty, if you’re going to be twenty, if you never want to remember being twenty, this book is for you.”

—Zoë Schiffer, author of “Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter”

“This unique cocktail of memoir, self-help, and essays offers a captivating and bitingly comic journey through a California coming-of-age . . . Her crack comic timing and eye for the killer detail never come at the expense of hard-won wisdom . . . Tico’s form is bold, as “Cancer Moon” mixes straight-ahead memoir with pages of intimate blank verse that dig deep into ideas and feelings . . . Rousing, bold, funny story of growing into one’s power.”

—BookLife Review, Editor’s Pick

More about the Author

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.  Find out more about her at her website.

 

Follow Jenna Tico on social media: 

Instagram: @jennaticowrites  

In an interview, Jenna Tico can discuss:

• Embracing your turbulent twenties, a period of time that is often marked by intense emotional highs and lows, self discovery and significant life transitions
• How we as women feel the need to be “allowed” to authentically live our lives, but how important it is for us to be able to express our feelings without the need to apologize and get permission 
• Taking back your power by breaking free from toxic relationships and decentering men from your life
• Healing from emotional abuse with the support of strong friendships
• The distinctive rhythm and structure that emerge from writing a book in harmony with the phases of the moon
• Choosing to title the book “Cancer Moon” and its connection to your astrological and spirituality journey
• Her choice to keep many of the writings in the present tense, as opposed to doing everything in retrospect –”knowing better” – or editing the writing to be more reflective of her current skill or voice
• How many of the pieces in the book were created for performance, and have been performed as pieces of spoken word and/or dance – the transition from page to stage or vice versa

An Interview with Jenna Tico

1. How did your personal experiences shape the themes of the book and what do you want young women to take away from your experiences?

It’s impossible to separate the themes of “Cancer Moon” from the personal experiences that shaped them. Even the book’s structure, grouped around the cycles of the moon, reflects the ebb and flow of each lived state. The choppiness of the language, too, reflects the chaos of the experiences being described. Nothing is neatly wrapped up at the end, and the book itself is not chronological—because it took me the whole of my twenties to realize that growth itself is not straightforward, and while there was a lot of posturing around adults having it all “figured it out,” I found that to be rarely (if ever) true. “Cancer Moon” is messy, non-linear, slightly emo, occasionally unhinged, hopefully colorful, and very much still in-process—because that is what my twenties felt like. I’m still processing and learning from them.

2. How did you learn to walk away from toxic relationships and create a supportive network?

In all honesty, it’s something I’m still learning to do. I believe that the same lessons keep showing up until we have fully learned them—and while I’m no longer struggling to recognize toxicity in romantic relationships, I’ve had opportunities in recent years to learn from the same dynamics in my work life. My network of support was both the result of and the reason BEHIND my ability to make better choices and respect myself. Surrounding myself with people who aren’t afraid to tell me the truth, and who love me unconditionally, has emboldened me to trust my gut and walk away from what no longer serves.

3. Can you share a pivotal moment in your life that really shaped the narrative of “Cancer Moon”?

The narrative of Cancer Moon is itself a collection of pivotal moments—some of them small, some of them large. Some of the more obvious moments were related to breakups, because I was cracked-open enough to turn to writing to help me process my feelings. Even though those moments were incredibly difficult, they were also precious, because I was less defended—and more open to experience the raw beauty of life as well as the hardship. I hope both come through. 

The birth of my first child was also a huge impetus for collecting the pieces, and writing the ones that were still outstanding. Suddenly, I had way less time— but I also had this tiny human inspiring me to keep learning about myself, pushing me to model continual growth in my own interests and passions. In many ways, he made this experience more challenging, but I also don’t think I could have done it without him.

4. How did you decide on the title “Cancer Moon” and how was it written in conjunction with the phases of the moon? Are you a fan of astrology?

My Grandma Lu was an astrologer, so I have been fascinated with the stars since I was a child—but it wasn’t until I was twenty-seven and enrolled in a psychological astrology course that I really began to see the connection between my life themes and the position of the planets. When I was born, the moon was in the sign of Cancer—its home sign—and one of notoriously big feelings, watery emotions, clinginess, you name it. Learning about astrology coincided with a larger period of inquiry, and ultimately the result was a better understanding of (and appreciation for) the emotionality that I had previously tried to reject within myself. My Cancer Moon felt like the perfect umbrella for unpacking the decade of my life that was spent so deeply in relationship with my emotions, learning to accept them without attaching to them.

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