William (Jim) Johnston

Born in 1948, a 3lb preemie who fit in his father’s palm, ‘like a hairless Norwegian rat,’ Jim Johnston has led a life of both struggle and triumph. From his first year of school he had to endure corporeal punishment, having his left hand tied behind his back, or whipped with the sharp end of his teacher’s pointer; she was determined to “beat the devil” out of Little Jimmy who had “attitude” and just wouldn’t learn his lessons like the other kids. Jim was made to sit in the corner with the proverbial dunce cap on, all because of ignorance around dyslexia in the 1950’s. He was failed 2 grades, and the principal told his parents that he was “semi-retarded ...”  Despite feelings of humiliation and despair, young Jim continued, determined to prove that just because he saw things differently didn’t mean he was going to fail in life.


Jim found it difficult to get a respectable job because of repeated failed IQ tests, but after looking around, he learned the trade of being an aluminum mechanic just by watching jobs being done. Later, with his own small business as a contractor, Jim’s life was good. 
But tragedy struck when a terrible car accident in 2010 left him with severe traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, and for months he was unable to work or even drive a car. He still endures pain and debilitating headaches and needs to limit his time working. He was sent for retraining and testing.  Although his results showed grade four reading and writing skills, his test scores for creativity were through the roof, astonishing everyone. But despite these results, it wasn’t until the year 2000 that Jim was finally diagnosed with dyslexia and his life improved as he was helped by professionals who understood how his brain worked.  


Despite his brain injury, Jim’s ambitions overrode his challenges, and he studied at Camosun College, and then took on the challenges of five writing programs at the University of Victoria in 2006. In 2022, at the age of seventy-four, Jim graduated and earned praise from both teachers and the media and became an honorary member of Dyslexia Canada. 


Jim says people ask him what the secret is to becoming a good writer. 
In response he says this: 


“May all your sunrises be bright in front of you and the shadows of darkness behind you and if you don’t want to live in the past the windmill of life never grinds on water that has passed.” And you want to know what makes me tick?


“I run on H2O and daylight savings time.” 


Jim Johnston is in the midst of publishing a compilation of poetry, screenplays, short stories, and a book that will be out soon called: “Dog’s Egyptian Dreams.”


He lives in Esquimalt BC, in a home surrounded by things that he grows. His harvest is always abundant, and he shares as much of his fresh produce as he can to help feed those in need. Giving back gives him the energy to create more and more.