In both memoirs, Johnson tells readers about when her ex-boyfriend kidnapped, raped, and held her hostage in 2000.

The books do not focus on the violence, but rather on how Johnson is reclaiming her story and learning how to cope with her trauma.

[9] After her second book, The Other Side was published, Johnson was repeatedly asked the question, "What would she like to see happen to her rapist.

"[10] This question began Johnson's investigation into the concepts of forgiveness and mercy in her 2018 book, The Reckonings: Essays, where to many audience members' surprise, Johnson does not want vengeance, and frequently says that her idea of justice is to have her rapist be held accountable and for her to heal.

[18] Johnson has said that her formal training was in poetry, which was one of the structures she used in the often short pieces in her first book, Trespasses: A Memoir.