About Me

What You’ll Find Here

Music reviews and stories
Personal reflections on depression, anxiety, and grief
Self-care and emotional regulation advice I find useful from therapy
Lifestyle posts about reading, gaming, photography, and travel

I’m Jessica/Jess — a Rhode Island–based mental health and lifestyle blogger originally from Pennsylvania. A Bookish Jem makes space for honest stories about living with depression and anxiety, grief and recovery, and the small hobbies (reading, photography, gaming, and music) that help me keep going.

How I Started Writing

Growing up with a New York journalist/editor grandfather, I knew I wanted to be a writer like him. I sat in his New Jersey computer room at eight years old, music on and typing stories. Writing poetry became my lifeline at 12 when depression and anxiety first wreaked havoc on my life; poetry saved my life.

I launched my first music blog in 2012 as a Professional Writing student at Kutztown University. That initial music blog opened the door to my decade-long music journalism career and brief music industry career. I also opened a blog switching from writing to fashion to what it is today.

How and Why I’m Here

Loss and mental illness left me purposeless. After mounting grief and an impulsive leap into the music industry, everything crashed and burned in 2025. I moved to Rhode Island at the beginning of the year and began the work of rebuilding: adjusting to a new state, finding new friends, and confronting long-standing feelings of self-loathing and low self-worth in therapy. Now I share what I learn here to remind anyone struggling that they aren’t alone.

Thank you for being here. I hope the experience of this nervous bookworm helps give you hope for tomorrow. And, if you’re new here, follow me on Instagram @abookishjem to know me better and say hello!