If Walls Could Write

[Gregory Matthews]

Jeffrey L. Johnston, IF WALLS COULD WRITE AND OTHER STORIES. 2014, 241 Pages.

30 years ago a young male was involved in an auto accident that placed him in a coma for a month. He came out of that coma and spent the next 20 years in rehab. Those years were not easy, addiction to illegal drugs, homeless, living under a bridge, confined to a wheel chair, time in jail, charged with major crime, etc. Then the came clean. He learned to walk and obtained his GED. From there the earned a BS in business and was employed by a government agency. This was followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree and life as a professional photographer and writer, both somewhat as a hobby as he earns his living in other ways. Today you would never know of his past and what he has overcome.

NOTE: You can see some of his photography at: www.jefferyjohnstonphotography.com

http://www.jeffreyjohnstonphoto.net/ THIS ONE

The book cited above is available on Amazon in print and as an e-book.

That book is in many parts a fictionalized account of his life. Some chapters deal with other people. Those that deal with his life have been fictionalized in limited ways.

Jeffery Johnston is the son of my sister.

The book chapter entitled "Mind Games" tells the story of the month that he spent in a coma and the day he came out of the coma. It will be of interest to those who wonder whether or not people in a coma have some knowledge of what is going on around them. The bottom line is: Jeffery knew, perhaps in a distorted sense, what was going on around him. He could still hear and he understood, to some degree, what people were saying in his presence. NOTE: His language is raw.

The chapter "Midnight Run" is instructive for how abused women often relate to abusive men.

While some of the chapters deal with other real people and in a partially fictionalized sense, in some ways this is Jeffery's story of his life.

[Gail]

Intriguing! I'm glad you shared this, Gregory!

[Gregory Matthews]

Check our his photography at the URL I listed.

I find of interest his account of the month that he spent in a coma. He clearly knew even if in a distorted manner, what was going on around him. It was just that he could not respond.

By the way, the photo of him on his website and in the book is of him.

[Gregory Matthews]

I find interesting his account of when he came out of his coma. I will quote from what he said to the nurse who was watching over him at that time NOTE: Her name has been changed:

Quote:

Whoa! Who . . . are. . . you? You are stunningly beautiful. Wait, are . . . are you an angel? Oh {edited out}! I must be dead. Oh my God! If you’re an angel, that must mean I’m dead! Dang, you are so pretty. Prettier than anyone or anything I’ve ever seen. So all those movies were right. Angels really do have long blond hair and luminescent eyes like polished blue glass. Hey what’s your name! Do angels even have names?

{As said by the nurse watching over him.} “Oh my God. . . There you are. . . We‘ve been waiting a very l ong time for you to return to us.” . . . My name is Pia. . . Don’t go away now. I’ll be right back. . . . “He woke up! 382-A woke up! 382-A woke up!”