Novelist/Poet Rhonda Denise Johnson Writes Away Her Tears

— Being legally blind and having a hearing impairment does not stop this author from painting her pictures with words. —

Nationwide — Billed as “The Writer Who Paints Pictures with Words”, Rhonda Denise Johnson doesn’t let her struggles with hearing impairment and legal blindness inhibit her mastery of the written word.

Johnson’s sensory disabilities progressed slowly. From the time she was a small child going through public schools, she fought against the relentless belief that she lacked common sense. Yet, no other explanation was proffered for why she could not pick up on the social cues that told other kids what was expected of them. Because there was so much she could hear, she was not aware there were things she was not hearing. When the problem became noticeable, around age twelve, she began to have visual difficulties. During the first twelve years of her adult life, Johnson was profoundly deaf. For the last six of those years, she walked around Los Angeles legally blind and unable to hear before receiving a cochlear implant that restored her sense of hearing.

Unable to see or hear, Johnson knew she could still think and feel and she knew she had a gift to express those thoughts and feelings in writing. Yet, her poor vision made this a challenge. It’s not that she never gave up. She gave up many times. Then, as she sat around thinking about all the reasons she had to fail, it dawned on her that that same mental energy could be used thinking of ways to succeed.

Johnson holds a master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles where she taught basic writing to undergraduates as part of the Teaching Associates program. She is a recipient of the Henri Coulette Memorial Poetry Award, a university based award of the Academy of American Poets. Her body of works includes an autobiography, Speaking for the Child: An Autobiography and a Challenge; two novels, The Crossroads of Time and its sequel, Where in the Whirl; a number of short stories and poems. Johnson also uses screen magnification software to create web sites for clients in New York and California.

For more details about Rhonda Denise Johnson, visit www.rhondadenisejohnson.com

For interview requests, call (903) 401-1371 or send an email to author (at) rhondadenisejohnson.com

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Rhonda Denise Johnson
(903) 401-1371
author (at) rhondadenisejohnson.com