July 6, 2016
Categories: Speaking, Writer . Tags: abuse, advocacy, authors, books, free, life, live, love, mali, mental health, mental health advocates, on air, podcast, radio, radio show, speakers, survivors, women, women's issues, writing . Author: FeliciaLJohnson . Comments: Leave a comment
Happy Winter! Best wishes to you this holiday season!
Hello friends! The winter season has begun. As the days seem to be darker and the air a bit colder, let’s keep in mind that it’s just the season. We can choose to keep our light shining bright within ourselves and share the warmth of love and caregiving with others. The winter season is hard for me because of the short days and dreary clouds. However, I choose to eliminate negativity to enable positivity for myself and to share with others. Remember to love always and love deeply with sincerity. It will come back to you either way.
“Her” The Book To Film Hatchfund Donation Technical Difficulties!
Attention: anyone who has tried to donate to our Hatchfund project to turn Her the book into Her the movie! There have been some technical difficulties for the past few days and a few people have reported not being able to donate to the campaign.
If you have visited the Hatchfund project page and tried to make a donation, but the page timed out, we have other options for you. Please call our project manager, Erin, at 877-893-0587 in order to make your tax-free donation. Alternatively, you can mail a check (payable to AIM Hatchfund) to:
AIM Hatchfund
1905 Harney Street
Omaha, NE 68102-2367
Remember that we need all of these donations in as soon as possible so we can make our goal to get started with this project, so please donate ASAP! Deadline is 9/28/14 so please don’t delay!
Visit http://www.herthebook.com
Visit and PLEASE SHARE WITH EVERYONE! http://www.hatchfund.org/project/mental_health_novel_to_film_adaptation
Thank you again for all of your donations and shares, and don’t forget that if you share with three people who donate at least $25 apiece, then you can get the first level perk!
Valentine’s Day Book Giveaway!
Valentine’s Day is all about love, friendship, and caring for one another. My novel Her is about developing love from family, love from friends, and love and understanding for oneself. In honor of this Valentine’s Day, Her will be available for free download from Friday February 14th until Tuesday February 18th.
Gift Her to yourself if you want to help yourself understand the plight of someone with mental illness, and be able to share an unconditional love with them. Gift Her to someone who may be suffering with depression, BP, family abuse, so that they may understand that they are not alone in this fight. Or, just gift it to someone interested in an intense, roller-coaster read with an unconventional love story.
Below are all the links for the country-specific Amazon sites. Follow the links to get your free copy!
USA
Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/Her-Felicia-Johnson-ebook/dp/B00D64V0F6
UK
Australia
Mexico
Germany
France
Spain
Italy
Japan
Brazil
Austria
International Women’s Festivals and The Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® Awards in Santa Barbara California
From The Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® awards Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GutsyGalAwardNominees
“Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® award recipients are incredible role models for all. Their stories, once told, become the foundation for possibility,” said Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® founder, Deborah Hutchison. “By giving our awards at the Women’s Festivals and other events, we hope to launch a movement to inspire girls and women across the world to be courageous, confident, and have the desire to drive their own destinies. The Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® awards are presented to inspirational and gutsy women.
“We’re highlighting Gutsy Gal award nominee Felicia “Fee” Johnson today! Fee overcame tremendous physical and psychological adversity to become an inspirational author, mental health worker and child abuse survivor (and ice cream lover) who strives to empower others, particularly youth.
Fee’s debut novel, “Her,” is a survivor’s tale of endurance that illustrates the complex illness of Borderline Personality Disorder. The book currently has a 4.5/5 star rating on GoodReads.com and a 4.6/5 star rating on Amazon.com.
‘Despite every curve ball life has thrown her, Felicia remains stronger and more gutsy than anyone I have known and she inspires me to do my best every day,’one nominator says of Fee. ‘…she lovingly gives of her time and effort to help children who may have no one,’ says another.
To learn more about the phenomenal and fabulous Fee, come to the Gutsy Gals Inspire Me!® Award ceremony at the 2014 Women’s Festival on March 7 & 8! We’ll be honoring her and our other amazing nominees. Thank you for all you do, Fee! We’re proud to call you a Gutsy Gal.”
Come see me in Santa Barbara, California on March 7th through March 9th for the International Women’s Festivals: Building a Better Future for Women and the World. Check out: https://www.facebook.com/womensfestivals for more information.
Black & White Thinking – A symptom associated with BPD – Borderline Personality Disorder
Loving1today: Loving1with Black and White Thinking.
This is contributed by community member Fee Johnson for Loving1withmentalillness.com
Black and white thinking is one of the classic symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Black and white thinking is characterized by the following statements:
“I love you”
“I hate you”
“Stay with me”
“Leave me alone”
They push you away, then pull you back in. You will find these types of behaviors in relationships with those who have BPD.
There is a lot of polarized thinking while living with BPD. The sufferer has to be perfect and good, or else they are bad. In their world, there is to be no in between. Even one mistake, no matter how small or trivial, can make a person with BPD feel as if they are a failure and do not deserve to live.
When you care for someone who has BPD, this can sometimes be confusing, and hard to deal with. In order to support someone with BPD in becoming more stable in their emotions, help them settle these extreme thoughts and behaviors.
It is important to recognize the symptoms and behavioral patterns to find an in between. Instead of giving into the extremes of the black and white thinking, you can help the person with BPD find areas of grey. Understanding, patience, and empathy are needed.
You can help guide an emotionally unstable person to a place where they can accept that one mistake doesn’t make them bad. The world is not black or white and good or bad. Therefore, we can appreciate the shades of grey and thus help balance our lives into healthier directions.
Support our community member Fee by clicking on the link below to access her book “Her” which illustrates what it is like to live with BPD.
Black and White Thinking: Written by Fee Johnson, Edited by Debra DeLash
www.herthebook.com
Have I Ever Told You About Holls?
Have I Ever Told You About Holls?
Holls was my best friend. Fifteen years ago, today, April 10, my best friend, Holls, committed suicide. A week later, I received a letter from her. It was a goodbye. It was the last goodbye I’d ever get from Holls.
It’s been fifteen years since I’ve last seen Holls. It still feels like yesterday since we laughed and shared our good times together. One of the good times we had shared, was when we used to call each other on the telephone every day and say what we were feeling. Holls and I never held back. We’d wait for the other person to respond sympathetically. Then, we’d say, “Okay, I will call you later.” It was that simple with her. Holls didn’t make a big deal out of nothing. But she wasn’t the type of person to make you feel like your feelings or concerns weren’t important. She was a humanitarian, and had a loving attitude when it came to being a true friend.
I wish that Holls had given herself a chance to grow up. She would have seen that the pain she had felt when she was a child, in the hard life that she had lived, wouldn’t last forever. Although it was hard for us growing up, there was a chance for us to become healthy, strong, and happy people. I wish that she was here so that I could give her a hug. As I would hug Holls, I’d say, “See? We made it. We’re okay. And we are still the ‘bestest’ of friends!”
Holls and I used to hate it when adults would say to us, “Why are you depressed? You’re just a kid. What problems do you have? When you grow up, you’ll see. It gets a lot worse. It’s easy for children.”
Little did they know what we had suffered.
I learned, after Holls’ death, that she had Borderline Personality Disorder. I didn’t know what BPD was until I did research on it. It was confusing to me at the time. So, I began to study mental health, depression, and personality disorders. I wrote journals about my memories of Holls, our friendship, and what it was like growing up. Before I realized, the journal turned into a novel of great memories.
I’ve been writing since I was a little girl. I wrote my first novel when I was only six years old. Years after Holls’ death, I had an idea to write a story about a girl who suffered from depression and BPD, but then somehow survived all that she had been through. So, I started on a story, with Holls in mind. Although, the story is not about Holls, I wanted to write something that I could dedicate to her. I wasn’t sure where I was going with this story, but I started writing as I did with all of the stories I had written. I wrote the first outline of what the story would be about and the main characters, but I didn’t quite have an ending for it.
When I did finally write the original version of Her, the main character had a different ending than the version that is being published now. I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that I feel like Holls would be proud of the ending that you, as the reader, will read today. If Holls had given herself a chance to be a survivor, I think she would say that this new ending is the ending that she could have had.
Therefore, I dedicate this story called Her, her story, to Holls. Her is not Holls’ story, but she did provide hope and inspiration.
Please be sure to like my author’s page on Facebook to read more about my debut novel called Her. It is the story inspired by Holls. Click here.
*Holly’s nickname was Holls.
Her: The Novel – Depression – BPD
Her: The novel by Felicia Johnson
In many ways, Kristen Elliott is a normal, seventeen-year-old girl. Kristen loves her family. She works hard academically, and tries to please her mother. She takes on the additional responsibility of caring for her twin siblings, Nick and Alison. She idealizes her best friend, Lexus, who not only seems to lead the perfect life, but also catches the attention of John, the boy Kristen secretly loves. However, as is the case with many teenagers, Kristen feels frustrated, isolated, and confused.
In other ways, Kristen is not like other kids her age. She knows something is wrong with her. Kristen feels like an utter failure. She is unable to please her abrasive mother, and scared to confront Jack, her abusive stepfather. She is also unable to protect Nick from Jack, making her fell all the more helpless. Adding to her problems, she knows she will never be as beautiful as her best friend Lexus. Kristen finds solace in self-injury, and the company of Mr. Sharp, her imaginary friend who encourages her feelings of self-loathing.
After a failed suicide attempt, Kristen is placed in the Bent Creek mental hospital, where she is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. While in the hospital, she meets a group of peers suffering with their own mental illnesses, and a compassionate staff of doctors and counselors. From there, Kristen begins her journey to survival. She discovers the circumstances that brought her to this breaking point, struggles to understand her mental illness, and fights to be a survivor against her own worst enemy: her self-blame.
Kristen’s tale of endurance illustrates the complex illness of Borderline Personality Disorder. Readers – including those suffering from BPD and their friends and family – can glean insight into the illness from Kristen’s humanity. Her story is an example of how, if we try to push the past away, we are either doomed to repeat it or let it haunt us to our graves.
Room On The Shelf
Do you like to read? Are you a lover of books? Whether you are a fan of fiction or non-fiction, you can agree that it’s hard to put down a good book that has an intriguing plot.
So what’s the deal with the war over realism and fantasy? Does it really matter if your imagination craves the tales of vampires, werewolves, and unicorns? As opposed to, if you enjoy reading stories of struggle, survival, and coming of age. Do you really have to choose to be a fan of one particular genre?
Reading is essential for everyone. We should be encouraging more people to pick up a book to read. We shouldn’t judge the book by it’s genre, but by it’s content.
As a writer of realistic YA-fiction, I can honestly say that I enjoy reading a variety of books of different genres. Classics, thrillers, fantasy, coming of age, tales of endurance and survival, and even some humorous poetry all have a place on my bookshelf.
It’s the same with writing. We, as writers, should stick together and encourage one another. Writing should not be a competition. No matter what genre each of us write, we should support each other. All of our stories are not the same, and that is a good thing. How are we to encourage others to read, if there isn’t a variety of different stories to peak our readers’ interests?
The truth is, we all have a story. We all have a voice. We all have something inside of us that needs to come out. That is why we write. Therefore, we have the right to express ourselves with our writing talent.
Really. Where is the competition?
Whether we are vampires, werewolves, detectives, cowboys, aliens, or real people who live in a fictional or non-fictional world there is room on the shelf for our stories. Writers, let’s support each other in being heard. Devoted readers will make room on their shelves for all of our incredible stories.
Please like my Author’s Page on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Felicia-Johnson-Authors-Page/574501032562838
Happy National Reading Month!
Happy National Reading Month!
Today is a wonderful day. It is a day that I’ve appreciated since I was a little girl. It’s the first day of National Reading Month. Bibliophiles are celebrating everywhere! I know that I am!
I will be celebrating by visiting my local bookstore and browsing for hours for the book that I will curl up with tonight in my pajamas with a glass of Apothic Red. Also, I have launched my author’s page on Facebook. Please feel free to check it out, like it, and share.
How will you celebrate?
Here is a list of a few of my favorite books:
Cages of Glass, Flowers of Time – Charlotte Culin
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish – Dr. Seuss
An American Tragedy – Theodore – Dreiser
Every Day – David Levithan
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
Johnny The Homicidal Maniac – Jhonen Vasquez (yes, graphic novels count)
Falling Up – Shel Silverstein
Peter Pan – J. M. Barrie
The Skin I’m In – Sharon G. Flake
…and the list goes on.
Honestly, there are too many books to list.
Have fun this month adding to your collection of prose narrative treasures! Enjoy the romance of being a bibliophile. Lots of love!
My Author’s Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Felicia-Johnson-Authors-Page/574501032562838
Felicia Johnson 