Jill Zima Borski

Jill Zima Borski has been a self-employed writer, photographer and editor in the Florida Keys since 2001. Know that I have Lived is her first self-published work and she encourages feedback and discussion about it.

Jill also welcomes speaking and teaching opportunities and books signings.

Jill often shares her knowledge such as teaching "Memoir Writing Made Easy" at the College of the Florida Keys. For a few years, she also taught the Great Decisions curriculum, a public affairs discussion class coordinated by the Foreign Policy Association. These classes put to work Jill's Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in political science and mass communications and her Master of Science degree from Indiana University in telecommunications.

Jill was the second oldest in a busy family of six kids. Although they occasionally compared themselves to the Brady Bunch, they had no dog, and mom had no "Alice" to assist her. Jill loved being a member of a large, active and loving family in which exciting things were constantly happening in sports, the arts or academics.

The family moved fairly frequently in response to corporations' needs. This enabled Jill to see different parts of the Midwest, Northeast and Florida. In her book of short stories, Jill shares stories that show how language dialects even in the U.S. differentiate our population and separate us.

America's borders were not limiting, however, Jill felt compelled to explore beyond them, first as an exchange student in west Switzerland and then during yearly and occasionally bi-annual trips to Europe from 1981 through 2001. These trips enabled enthralling encounters.

Attending a Catholic school for kindergarten through sixth grade led to certain experiences such as being selected to portray the Virgin Mary during an annual nativity play. Rather than being an ethereal experience, Jill discovers the devil rearing his head. Jill describes incomprehensible happenings from a child's perspective several times.

Being left behind during a family outing shows how vulnerable and sensitive a child can be as she tries to make sense of certain situations.

Equipped with a great education and a strong work ethic, Jill's job search in the Southeast turns up little opportunity. As she tries to find her way down a career path which looks more like a dirt road to nowhere, she explores alternatives such as working as a travel agent which enables travel to faraway places. Speaking several languages, Jill decides her bike is her best and favorite mode of transportation for many of these trips as it enhances her contact with the local people. Although this decision is not for the weak, Jill shares her love of cycling in a singular summer in 1991 when she views the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France professional bike races in person. Befriended by an international cycling team, she encounters goodness and kindness that is not forgotten -- and gets interviewed by a Spanish TV station.

Know that I have Lived is a memoir in essays. It is not completely linear as some themes overlap years. Jill shares her most memorable moments highlighting universal themes of alienation, fear, naiveté, self-discovery and clairvoyance. Determining life is not for the weak or the artistic, the memoir's conclusion shows there is nowhere left for her to go but down to the ultimate escape territory of the Florida Keys.