In Wounds To Wisdom, Doris AC Johnson Encourages You To Fight For Your Life
TODAY’S PURPOSE WOMAN is proud to celebrate and promote authors who are impacting the lives of others both on and off the paper. In our series, Powerhouse Authors, we highlight and chat with remarkable authors about their books and why they feel it is needed in today’s world.
We recently spoke with Doris AC Johnson a therapist, mother, grandmother, domestic violence and epilepsy advocate, designer, novelist, blogger, content creator, talk show host, and relationship guru with a twist that has sat on many forums. She is a proud recipient of the Women’s Independence Scholarship Program (WISP), designed and implemented to assist domestic violence survivors in accessing higher education opportunities. This honor inspired hope for Johnson as she went on to volunteer for several domestic violence agencies in her community. Those opportunities were the conduit to speaking at many venues, including churches, shelters, women’s centers, and the historical Wayne State University. She is an Executive Producer for the Nubian TV Network currently working on a project called “Trigger” which is a 6 part docuseries about African American Women and domestic violence set to come out in 2023.
Furthermore, Johnson is the founder and Executive Director of a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, Leaving You For Me Women’s Service, and has contributed to over 14 literary works, 5 of which are her own novels. Doris has shared a snippet of her story amongst a group of other talented writers who disclosed details of their stories of survivorship under the facilitation of fellow domestic violence advocate Dr. Tamiko Lowery-Pugh in Wounds to Wisdom Survivors Series Volume 3.
Below is our conversation with Johnson about her book and why she feels it is essential in today’s world.
Your chapter, The Girl Between The Sheets, in The Wounds to Wisdomanthology, shares details of the night that changed your life. Tell us a little about this.
On Saturday, November 21, 1998, I felt strange when I awoke that morning. My body was aching all over…especially the space behind my ears. I had nightmares (so it seemed) all through the night. Despite the level of the discomfort and me being almost nine months pregnant, I still tried to navigate through my day like all was well (it was anything but). I was hearing voices and seeing things in slow motion. When I woke up five days later, it was Thanksgiving. In that slot of time between Saturday the 21st and Thursday the 26th, I watched myself die between white sheets. It was up to me to make a conscious decision to live. When I woke up to family members and a team of doctors, I learned that I had given birth to a baby boy. I didn’t even remember being pregnant. Then they went on to tell me that I had thirteen seizures in one day while in the hospital.
I was twenty-six at the time. I have kept journals since I was nine years old and even to this day. It was the telling of my journal that reminded me that I was in an abusive relationship because it took time for me to even remember that I hated my life before that day. It was the telling of the journal that informed me that I was having seizures while writing in my journal that night. It was a journal that kept me grounded and fueled hope when I had none. The story goes on to chronicle my life and all of the abuse I suffered through a window…in between the sheets of my journal. It took me to get reconstructive surgery five years later to leave the relationship. After it was all said and done, and I had moved on with life, I learned that I had nocturnal epilepsy – seizures in my sleep because of all of the head trauma. Always the girl between the sheets.
Who does your chapter specifically speak to?
This chapter speaks to the woman who had to keep it together on the outside, underneath a plastic smile.
What do you want readers to get out of reading your chapter?
When I was laying in that bed for all those days, unable to feed myself, get up to use the restroom, bathe myself, or even speak…I didn’t completely lose sight. God allowed me to see myself laying there and gave me a choice. I could leave my children motherless. I could leave my story untold. Or I could get up and continue on my journey and the path He made for me. I didn’t understand the assignment at that time. It was up to me to choose the right path and fight! Don’t give up!
Is there anything else on your heart to share?
I left and I came back. I came back, and I left again. I have been gone for 20 years, and it took me years to get away. Sadly, a part of me will always be attached to that situation because I have a rare case of epilepsy that stemmed from head trauma at the hands of someone who was supposed to love me forever. I lost layers of myself looking for the key that God was holding in his hand the entire time. All I had to do was reach. And I now realize this in hindsight. I had to hear him. I had to accept his words. I had to block anything that would distract me from extending my reach. There were people around me who tried to ease my pain by normalizing what was abnormal…by making dysfunctional…functional. And I was alone in so many ways. When doors started opening up, I didn’t run to them because of fear. I spent so much time preparing to prepare myself to go…to leave with my 5 children. I cried crocodile tears to a friend, telling her that I didn’t know if I could make it alone. And she said to me, “You already are.” I still hear that. Those words are treasured gold. And they were the vessel for my retirement from abuse. It takes a lot of nerve to dream and expect it to come true. I did that. I do that. And you have the power to do so also. I felt undeserving for a long time, but that changed when I decided to have IT!
To learn more about Doris, connect via the websites below:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everythingdoris
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@everythingd0ris?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingd0ris/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/everythingd0ris
Twitch: .tv/everythingdoris
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHhVhoxHbQIUokTT0Kasf1w
Email: jdoris376@gmail.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/johnsondorisac
Blogspot: https://everythingdoris.blogspot.com/
Website: https://everythingdoris.com/
