Hope Johnson learned from her own personal experiences that everyone has family struggles and secrets one might not want to have to talk about.
She was a young girl when a member of her family took his own life and she would learn later about another member's years of clinical depression. She saw how people reacted to mental illnesses.
Witnessing the stigma about mental health is the reason she wrote her first book, "Yesterday, I Was Fine."
"Families aren't perfect and often others have a false belief about mental illness", she said.
"I was inspired by my family to write this book," the 34-year-old Lawndale author said.
"It's hard to watch someone you love broken and wounded. It's difficult when you do not know how to manage it or fix it. It's challenging to watch out for similar signs of mental health in yourself, no matter how well-educated you are about the subject. I wanted to bring to life those struggles and dilemmas in my story," Hope said.
In the first chapter of her book, readers learn the main character Lou must go live with her brother due to the sudden disappearance of her sister. She later learns her sister attempted suicide.
"The main story is basically about this teenager who thought she had an ideal life and then learns she doesn't," Hope begins. "Her family is not as perfect as she thought it was. When people make choices, they are to live with the choices," she said.
"While it is important to use my writing as a tool to fight for a better understanding of mental health, I'm always primed for a love story. This story has a lot of heaviness and angst, so I wanted to bring something light and hopeful. I could think of no better way to lighten the mood and distract a person from troubles than a new romance," she added of the book.
Studying Abroad
After living abroad four years and graduating from the University of Glamorgan in Cardiff, Wales where she received a bachelor and master's degrees in English and Writing, Hope returned home to Cleveland County around 2013 and in 2014 and started writing the book.
"A big part of me wanted to fight the stigma of mental illness issues. I wanted to lend a voice and insight," she said.
"It's a big deal to be more understanding of these issues and try to help others understand," Hope said.
The very idea of writing a book was challenging for Hope, who as a young child couldn't read or write. Diagnosed with dyslexia in the third grade, Hope's mother Susan taught her daughter a different style of reading and writing.
Even with her reading struggle, Hope loved a good story and said she fell in love with storytelling as a young girl.
Hope was enrolled in a small school in Tennessee where she received one-on-one attention and her mother kept teaching her and working with her at home through homeschooling.
"My schooling was all over the board," Hope said.
But Hope's mother made her daughter a promise that she'd teach her to read and write.
"I'm a reader, a writer and a published author because of my mother. She helped me full throttle," Hope said.
"So my first thanks is to my mother," she said.
Hope is working on a second book, when she's not on the job registering patients in hospital emergency rooms in the area.
She also loves to journal, something she has done all her life; she writes, loves coffee at a favorite coffee shop and loves her Shih Tzu named Bear.
She is a 2008 graduate of Burns High School, and went to Western Carolina University before finishing her college career in Wales.
"I enjoyed every minute of it and I'd tell people today to do it," she said of studying abroad.
"Enjoy every moment and every opportunity you can."
Hope's favorite all time book is The Help and her favorite book series is Harry Potter.
Connect with Hope on Instagram @TheHopeJohnson or check her website at: www.thehopejohnson.com for more information.