Featured Author
Meet Vivian Elaine Johnson
Vivian Elaine Johnson spent her childhood in a three-room house built by her father in Crystal Village, Minnesota. When she was an adolescent, the family moved to Minneapolis. It wasn’t until she met and married George that she moved to what she thought of as exotic California.
Vivian completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in behavioral sciences at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in addition to a two-year course in parish work at the Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis. She lived in Sweden with her family for a year to do research and conduct interviews for her master’s thesis, “Constructive Coping While in Bereavement,” a comparative study of Swedish and US subjects. While there, she happily connected with her Scandinavian roots.
Vivian and George shared a spirit of adventure that led them to travel extensively. Many trips were to under–developed countries, where they briefly lived among those in poverty. They found such interactions educational and rewarding.
Vivian had the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people in crisis through speaking at universities, churches, and other venues; publishing articles on the subject of bereavement; and meeting with patients and family members through her work at the American Cancer Society.
In addition, Vivian was the cocreator of LifeStories, a communication game, and was commissioned to write the life stories of four Minnesota families that were published for their friends and families. She also wrote human interest essays for a variety of periodicals. This is her first book for the general public.
Her two grown daughters, Sonja and Joy, live with their families in Southern California. Vivian’s five grand children call her MorMor, the Swedish name for “grandmother.” One of the greatest losses for Vivian and the entire family was the death on Christmas Eve of her teenage son from a rare and aggressive cancer.
Vivian, who lives in Southern California, can be found tending potted plants in her home and on the patio, reading, writing, and enjoying either coffee or wine with friends. One of her favorite annual activities is spending a few days away on vacation with her two “darling daughters.”