Member of the Month: Jenn Schultz

Jenn Schultz is a four-time melanoma survivor. As a cancer survivor myself, I know how a diagnosis such as that can shake your sense of self. But I also know that you can write your way back to yourself, and that’s exactly what Jenn did with her book Bravely Becoming. But she didn’t stop there. Jenn is also an ambassador and advocate for melanoma research and prevention. May is Melanoma Awareness Month and the perfect time to celebrate Jenn as the See Jane Write Member of the Month. In addition to her advocacy work for organizations like the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Melanoma Research Alliance and her full-time job as a college educator, Jenn somehow finds the time to be an active member of the See Jane Write Collective too. Not only does she attend many virtual meet-ups and workshops, but she’s also led write-in sessions for other members.

Read on to get to know our May Member of the Month — Jenn Schultz.

What inspired you to write Bravely Becoming? How did you know you were ready to share your story? 

When I first decided to write this book, I thought it was going to be something completely different. As a young adult diagnosed with cancer, I felt very isolated and alone. Everyone I knew who had had cancer was much older than me, and I couldn’t relate to their experience. It took a long time for me to find a community that made me feel seen and understood. During my recurrence, I remember looking for a book to help me process everything that was happening, but I couldn’t find anything that I connected to. That’s when I first decided I wanted to write one myself, but I expected it to focus more on the experience of having cancer.

I spent three years struggling to put words on paper, but I used that time to process what had happened and work on healing, both inside and out. Looking back, I believe it was so hard at first because the book was never supposed to be about having cancer. It was meant to be about what happens when you look in the mirror and don’t recognize yourself, and how to find your way back to who you are. I knew I was ready when the words started to flow!

Did writing your book help you further process your grief? 

I think processing my grief helped prepare me to write the book! During COVID, when I was in the midst of my recurrences, I was basically numb. It was too painful to process, so I had to almost disassociate to function. I was so disconnected from myself that I couldn’t put my experience into words. Shortly after, I found a support group for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors, began getting involved in cancer advocacy, and started to share more openly about my experience. The things I was sharing on social media and in lawmakers’ offices allowed me to not only process my grief but also became the foundation of my book.

How did you balance writing your book with your teaching career? Any time management tips for our readers? 

If anyone has any time management tips, I hope they share them with me! The biggest thing I did was schedule time to hold me accountable. I was more present in See Jane Write calls while I was deep in the writing process. I went to coffee shops and cafes where I would be less distracted than I am at home but also have new things around me to drive creativity. I would write on my lunch break and while students were taking exams. It was less about managing time for me and more about carving out time in my schedule!

Tell us more about your advocacy work. 

I’m the Vice Lead Ambassador of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) for the state of Minnesota, where we help shape policy that impacts those with cancer or allows for more access to cancer prevention. At the federal level, we are currently working to protect Medicaid, as well as working to pass the Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Act. There is a blood test currently waiting for FDA approval that screens for up to 50 types of cancer, many of them rare or have no current screenings available. This bill would proactively authorize this screening for Medicare and Medicaid patients, paving the way for other health insurance companies to follow suit. 

At the state level, I have been working with the Attorney General on medical debt reform. Last year, we were able to pass legislation that prevents medical debt from being handed down to a family member after death, medical debt can no longer be reported to credit agencies, and patients can’t be denied care due to medical debt. This year, we are working to pass a one-time funding bill of $5 million that will erase $500 million in medical debt across the state of Minnesota.

I’m also a patient advocate for the Melanoma Research Foundation and the American Academy of Dermatology, traveling to Washington, D.C. several times a year to meet with lawmakers to share my story as a 4x melanoma survivor as a way to shape healthcare policy to make it more equitable, accessible and affordable!

In what ways do you feel your advocacy work intersects with your work as a writer?

Advocacy work is storytelling! Lawmakers are inundated with facts and data every day. When it comes to things like healthcare, it’s so important to share stories from their constituents about how current policies affect us and the impact new legislation can have on cancer patients and their families. 

On my first trip to Washington, DC, I had four congressional meetings, sharing my story as a melanoma survivor and the importance of both telehealth and funding for cancer research. During my last meeting of the day, I got unexpectedly emotional. My representative’s staffer thanked me for being willing to share my story. She said Congress has all the data, but it’s stories like mine that my representative can take to the House floor and use to move the needle in policy reform.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to write a book to share their story, but they’re not sure where or how to start? 

I would tell them to start journaling, especially if they aren’t sure what part of their story they want to tell or how they want to tell it! Journaling helps to process your emotions and get a clearer vision of what things you have a lot to say about and which things felt big but there’s not enough to say.

I would also recommend finding resources early, whether that’s a writing group, information on whether traditional or self-publishing is the best fit for you, and find or hire editors. The See Jane Write resources and recorded workshops were so valuable to me as I navigated the process of choosing whether or not to self-publish and outlining the contents of the book. The outline looked very different at the end but it gave me much-needed direction when I was first starting out!

Why did you decide to become a See Jane Write member and what do you enjoy most about being a part of the Collective?

I have wanted to be a writer most of my life and I was introduced to you, Javacia, through one of your virtual book launch events. I felt a lot of similarities just in that brief event and began to follow you on social media. This led to me joining the public See Jane Write Facebook group, where I learned more about the Collective.

I immediately loved all of the resources within the See Jane Write database. Even during periods when I wasn’t able to attend the weekly calls because of scheduling conflicts, I continued on as a member because of those resources. No matter what kind of writer you want to be, See Jane Write has content and tools for you!

The thing I enjoy most is the community you’ve built! It’s such a great feeling to have a group of like-minded friends to write with, navigate writer’s block with, and get feedback from. I really enjoy hearing what others are working on and getting to know people even better through workshops like your personal narrative workshop First Person!

Follow Jenn’s advocacy work and writing life @jenn_patrice.

Who should be the next See Jane Write Member of the Month? Send your nominations to javacia@seejanewritebham.com and don’t be afraid to nominate yourself! Not a member? Apply to join here.