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Fact vs Story

As a teacher, Jen started writing stories to make language more accessible to her students. She soon learned that her relatable characters bridge the gap between culture, race, and status, and gave all kids the chance to see themselves in others, no matter the apparent differences. Written in simple, accessible language that serves as comprehensible input for those studying languages, Jen’s books serve as a springboard for conversation and connection. Kids and teachers across the globe are so attached to these stories and characters.

Jen recently told me about a teacher who reached out to tell her of a student who came to school dressed as one of the characters in La Chica Nueva. She’s spoken on national stages and most recently traveled to Guatemala to deliver some of her incredible stories in person. I am so happy to have you here with me today, Jen.

Hi, Wendy. Thanks so much for having me. I’m excited to be here as well.

Yay. So when you and I met two years ago, your life didn’t look anything like it does today, did it?

Oh, not even close. Not even close. I was cowering in the corner wondering when I was waiting for the apocalypse.

Would you mind giving us a little glimpse at what was going on for you back then?

I think, let’s see.. It was almost two years ago, well next month, I think. And I had recently separated from a job in a career that I had had the job I’ve had for about a dozen years and the career for twice that long. And I was adrift. I was adrift in a sea of unknown. Unknowing what was going to happen. Teaching high school was my identity. It was what I did for so long. And it came to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore the way it was happening for me. And I really didn’t know what to do. And kismet brought us together. Thank heavens, because I was one lost soul.

And there were some things that you really were hung up on back then about teaching, about the education system.

It took a long time for me to figure this out, but I don’t really like rules.

Yeah, clearly. It took a long time for me to figure this out, but I don’t really like rules. I like to do my own thing and to reach students of whatever age in the way that I’m most comfortable doing it and that I think is most effective. And where I was teaching wasn’t allowing me to do that. And so I really was struggling to find a way to do what I was most passionate about, which was connecting people. I mean, yes, I was a Spanish teacher for over 20 years, and I’m still a Spanish teacher, but it’s never really been about the language for me. It’s more about people. So I was lost. And I knew I didn’t want any rules. I just knew I didn’t want any rules.

Yeah. And could you describe for us what your overall outlook, positive or negative, was back then?

Oh, it was bleak. In fact, I think I remember telling you, probably repeatedly, “I think I’m going to have to choose which bridge abutment I’m going to live under, and I need to ask my pets what kind of shelter they would like,” because I didn’t have a belief in the world, in myself, that I could earn a living doing anything but teaching Spanish.

Yeah, I remember. And as funny as it is now, and for our listeners out there throughout this next 30 or so minutes, you will come to find that Jen Degenhardt is hilarious. All of the talk about living under bridges and fighting with the man and being under the thumb of the pedagogy, all of those things were funny, but they struck deep with you. You really believed them.

Yeah, I did. And I mean, I was conditioned for so long to “work for the man” and to collect that paycheck and to not even think about how that was coming in. It was just a given. And not ever having been given the opportunity, for myself even, not from the outside world, but the opportunity to see what I could do on my own.

And as anyone knows who started a business, starting anything on your own is just scary. It’s bloody scary. And so with the feelings about having left this career and then wanting to start something new, not knowing what I wanted to start. Going from there, it was a maelstrom. It was a rough time, as you well know.

Yeah. And you were afraid about losing your house?

I knew what I wanted to do, which was to write these books and connect with people like that.

I was afraid about losing my house. Hence the bridge abutment and the jokes about working the corner. Yeah. And I didn’t want to do any of that. I knew what I wanted to do, which was to write these books and connect with people like that. I just didn’t know how to go about doing it.

Yeah. So you had that dream and you put it out there a bit, right? You talked to people about becoming an author, about writing books. Would you mind sharing the response that you got?

Well, as probably many people who go into any sort of artistic endeavors, a lot of people were saying, “Oh yeah, that’s a great idea. What a great hobby.” And, “Maybe you can pick that up with underwater basket weaving or gardening or something on the side.” And my thought was, “No, no, I want to make a go of this. I have something to share and I think my stories are great.” And my family in particular, I think that they were most afraid that I was, in fact, going to lose my house and be living under this bridge abutment. And so they were not keen on this idea at all. And well, I just knew someone had sent to me or I had seen it online somewhere, “If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working towards it.” And I had that plastered up on my refrigerator, and it’s still there to this day. And I’m sure that shows you exactly how much I clean my refrigerator. But let’s not discuss that. It is not what we’re here for. And I’ve been working towards that ever since.

Yeah, you sure have. I can’t wait to get into that piece of it. It wasn’t just your family, though, that kind of thing. You hired yourself a consultant and some help and…

Oh, yes I did. I sold my soul and put together a hefty sum of money, a hefty sum of money at the time, which I did not have, and paid a consultant. And the consultant told me that writing books, those are a good business card, just something you can pass out to people. And having worked in education for a long time, I knew that books are the mainstay, regardless of what form they come in. People use books, teachers use books, students use books. And there weren’t that many books like the ones that I had written. Yet, she said, “No, no, no. This is not what you should do.” And I was discouraged from the word go with her. And having spent the exorbitant amount of money with this person added to the fact that I was afraid of what I was doing was a bad idea, it was rough. It was rough.

Yeah. So huge life event changed and turns your career upside down. You had this real drive to do this thing that you’ve wanted to do for so long. Like you’ve known you’ve been a writer, all you do is write. You’re a great storyteller. It’s always been a passion for you, and that drive just kept niggling and niggling and niggling. And your support system wasn’t there, and the people that you hired even to help you do it. And yeah, as they say: “and yet, she persisted.”

I persisted. I certainly did.

Yeah, so I think this is a great time for us to take a quick break. We’ve been talking with Jennifer Degenhardt about reinvention after 40. When we come back from this short break, we’re going to really dig in to how Jen has completely transformed her life. And as always, I’ll be giving you tools that you can start using today to create your own transformation. Jen, if our listeners want to learn more about you or your books, where can they find it?

They can go to my website, which is puenteslanguage.com.

Perfect. Stay with us. We’ll be right back.

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