Joy johnson author biography

Biography

Joy Johnson grew up in a small apartment with her family near the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia. She was homeschooled and spent much of her time in the library, were she developed a profound love for stories like, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Sword of Truth series, and Where the Red Fern Grows. She loved riding horses, biking, and soon began dreaming up stories of her own. When her father introduced her to, Star Trek and Voyager, she became an instant fan of science fiction, and her writing soon began to embrace the genre. In her youth, however, both her mother and sister became mentally ill; this has caused her to have great empathy for those who struggle with mental illness. As an adult, Joy Johnson chose to join the United States Marine Corps after 9/11. She has since been honorably discharged, married, and has had two children. Her son has a rare genetic disorder called, Treacher Collins Syndrome. This has had a profound impact upon her heart as a mother and writer. It has encouraged her to create characters who are beautifully flawed; characters who can be more than just the mask that they wear before the crowd. Mrs. Johnson now lives in the heart of the mountains of West Virginia where her imagination can run wonderfully wild, with a hot cup of coffee in hand.

Bibliography

The Death Dealer Diaries

About Joy

As SFU's president and vice-chancellor, Joy is committed to carrying out SFU's vision to be a leading research university advancing an inclusive and sustainable future, as outlined in What's Next: The SFU Strategy.

Joy is widely respected in academic and research communities. Prior to her appointment as president, Joy served as SFU’s vice-president, research and international from 2014 to 2020. Under her strong leadership, SFU’s research income grew from $103 million in 2014 to $161 million in 2020—the fastest growth in research income of any Canadian university.

Before joining SFU, Joy had a distinguished career in academics and research, completing her PhD in nursing at the University of Alberta before joining the University of British Columbia as a professor in the School of Nursing. Her commitment to research led her to take on the role of scientific director with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Gender and Health, setting the institute’s strategy and building opportunities for researchers. Joy’s many accomplishments reflect her dedication to operational excellence and her ability to align institutional policy and priorities to achieve success.

Early September has meant the conclusion of summer book club readings for at least the last 40 years for me…no longer are stamps, stickers and coupons for ice cream my reward. The gift of summer reading as an adult is the seeds for reflection that linger long past the turned pages, clicked on buttons, and quietly returned audiobooks.

This summer is no different. I am finally readingJAMES (by Percival Everett). The title for this post is a line from Young George spoken to the fugitive, whose sage words and deeds have inspired me to write here, for only the second or third time this year.

A few other lines in the book have pulled me back to this blog that I can’t stop thinking about

• What do you mean, Young George? Tell my story? How do you suggest I tell my story? He looked at his feet, I did too. They were bare, his toes grabbing the wet grass. He looked at my face. ‘Use your ears,’ he said…’Tell the story with your ears. Listen.” (pp. 91 – 92)
• With my pencil, I wrote myself into being. I wrote myself to here. (p. 93)
• Young George found my face in the thicket. I had the pencil. It was in my pocket. He was struck again and I winced…He found my eyes and mouthed the word RUN. I did. (pp. 95 – 96)
• …if someone pays you enough, its okay to abandon what you have claimed to understand as moral and right…(pp. 101-102)

As an educator, I recognize the complexity of this moment. Five school years of COVID education. We are still quaran-teaching. Because I am also grappling with health and wellness decisions, I can’t help but think in situational medical drama as a footprint for this journey…

2019 – 2020: School disruption six months into the school year (Emergency room)

2020 – 2021: Virtual whatever it was called–there were too many labels assigned to the task to give it any one description (Urgent care triage)

2021 – 2022: Return to “normal” (