About Me
A writer, facilitator, and yoga teacher exploring life’s thresholds.
I’m a Colombian-American writer drawn to the stories that shape our lives—and the ways we find words for them.
My work brings together memoir, essays, expressive writing, and yoga. Across these practices, I return to an invitation: read, write, and share your deep life stories to heal.
Jen Yontz-Orlando, MBA, MLIS, RYT® 200, is a Colombian-American memoirist, writing facilitator, and registered yoga teacher whose practice follows the Amrit Yoga Method.
Her work is rooted in the stories we carry about family, caregiving, culture, faith, belonging, and the body. She is currently writing La Casa Grande, Volume One of a memoir trilogy shaped by a life lived between cultures, languages, homes, and generations.
Jen is the founder of StoriesRx, a newsletter and creative business where she shares literary reflections, writing invitations, and thoughtfully guided workshops.
A Certified Journal to the Self® Instructor and CJF trainee through the Therapeutic Writing Institute, Jen brings warmth, curiosity, and gentle structure to her work. She believes writing can help us recognize what we have lived, give language to what matters, and meet our stories with honesty, compassion, and mercy.
Published work, and the trilogy in progress.
A memoir in progress about a childhood between Cali, Colombia, and Appalachian Ohio.
Editor & agent inquiriesI grew up between two worlds. That in-between is what I write about. Living between both worlds—two languages, two classes, two families—is the heart of my writing.
Part of my childhood belongs to Colombia, South America and to a fierce grandmother who taught me who I am.
The other part belongs to working-class Appalachian Ohio: porches, hills, the flow of seasons, and a family that taught me how much a story can hold.
“My writing teaches me the in-between is not a problem to fix.Jen Yontz-Orlando
Rather, it’s from there that I see most clearly.”
Online, at your pace, whenever you’re ready.
Small StoriesRx circles where we read, write, and share our deep-life stories.
Coming soon · Online, the first Thursday of each month
A room for family caregivers to remember who they are and how we got here.
Tell me when it startsCheck back often!
La Casa Grande, Volume One of a memoir trilogy. It is in progress. Editors and agents can email me directly.
Yes, anytime. Sessions are online and shaped around you: journaling, memoir and personal essay, or writing with yoga. Email me to book.
We read a short passage, write from guided prompts, and share if you choose. The Caregivers Circle is coming soon and will meet free online on the first Thursday of each month.
No. My workshops and sessions are educational and creative. They can support, but do not replace, mental health care or medical treatment.
Editors, workshop hosts, friends, and family: I read every email.
jen@jenyontzorlando.com
