Barbara Nelson, Contributor

Johnson

When Laura Johnson left Jamaica in 1988 to live in the United States (U.S.) she never imagined the varied and unusual experiences she would have later in her life. For one thing, the little 11-year-old girl who grew up with her mother and two sisters in Dunkirk could never have imagined herself in the United States army. One thing she was sure of, however, was the passion she had for writing.

After going to school in Philadelphia she joined the U.S. army in 1995. It opened up a whole new world for her. Not only did she go to boot camp and get advanced training in South Carolina, but she was also sent to Korea.

"In 2003, I went to Iraq," she said in her gentle voice. "It is impossible to describe the experience. I was living in a tent, surrounded by sand and more sand. Sometimes there were other people around, I was very lonely."

And no doubt it was a difficult experience as, even while we spoke on August 22, the news of 14 U.S. soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in northern Iraq was being broadcast on all the news channels.

Iraq was a life-changing experience for her. In an effort to overcome the loneliness that she felt while on her first tour of duty there, she decided to write down her thoughts - in poetry. A Canadian company published her first book, A Soldier's Heart. It deals with her emotions and battles in a war zone in 2004 while she was serving in Iraq.

As the year gave way to 2005, Laura began writing again. Her second book, A Soldier Never Cries, is non-fiction and written in the third person. The heroine, 26-year-old Sara Corn-wall, joins the army "to fight a war she knew nothing about - but her boyfriend, Jeff, was not fighting his temptations. Sara was toughing it out in Iraq - not only was she alone in the desert but also in her heart. How did war change Sara? And did she figure out the reason why she went to war?"

Back in the US

In April 2007, Laura released her third book Born as a Sufferer. She is hoping that now that she's back in the United States and "not sure I'll be going back to Iraq" she will have time to advertise and promote her books, as this has been a daunting problem since she is an independent self-publisher.

In response to my question of her feelings about serving in the army she said,"It's just a job being in the army. It's been good and bad. I've had the opportunity to travel and see new places. I have a steady income, but it's sometimes difficult to maintain relationships."

She added: "Right now I'm not sure if I'll be going back to Iraq."

When I asked her to relate one of the more memorable experiences she had in the war she said: "You will laugh at what I'm going to tell you. I had been in Iraq for about a month. So many things were happening all around me. One day I was passing a Red Cross table and I saw some cookies on the table. It was so good just to see cookies - right there! I think I needed some sugar."