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Heather Johnson

Originally from Ohio, Heather Johnson grew up in the Chicago area where she spent the majority of her childhood running away from one foster home to the next. She is grateful to be one of the very few who has come out of the foster care system at the age of eighteen and was able to launch successfully into adulthood. Regardless of her tumultuous upbringing, she is a successful wife and devoted mother. Heather has developed a strong foundation of faith, family, and concern for others. Her heart is to bring awareness to the deep dysfunction within our national foster care system. Dubbed “mouth” as a child, today, she uses her voice to advocate for the many children facing injustices as a result of the severely broken system. The Runaway Train Series is Heather’s first published work. Heather remains in the Chicago region with her wonderful husband and four beautiful children who, thankfully, have not inherited her running shoes.

Runaway Train

Heather Johnson shares her raw and real-life experience growing up in a severely flawed foster care system.

With a mother tormented by demons from her past, and an emotionally absent father, Heather and her three siblings are left to fend for themselves in a dysfunctional world full of chaos. But when the state steps in to help, Heather finds herself thrust into a broken foster care system. As a scrappy nine-year-old, she is forced to grow up fast while being misguided, misunderstood, and angry as hell. As she bounces from one placement to another, will she make it through each new trial that comes her way or will her life go completely off the tracks?

H.R. Johnson

Heather Johnson