Welcome
Allan G. Johnson is a public speaker, sociologist, nonfiction writer, and novelist who has devoted most of his working life to understanding the human condition, especially as shaped by oppressive systems of privilege based on gender, race, and social class.
His most recent book is his second novel, Nothing Left to Lose, the story of an American family in crisis during the Vietnam War. It is currently a finalist for the Foreword Reviews Prize in general adult fiction. Click the book cover on the right for more information, including reviews, purchase links (including a Kindle edition), and interviews with the author.
His first novel, The First Thing and the Last, is a story of redemption and healing in the aftermath of domestic violence. To listen to his interview about the novel on National Public Radio’s Here and Now, click here. To read Chapter 1 on the Here and Now website, click here. To read a two-part interview with The Pixel Project, a global organization dedicated to ending men’s violence against women, click here.
Publishers Weekly showcased The First Thing and the Last as a notable debut work of fiction, and in their follow-up review praised its “lyrical prose, sympathetic characters and an unwavering sense of hope and compassion that make for a moving, engaging read.”
Other reviewers describe it as “beautiful, brave, and liberating, a triumph of the spirit,” “miraculous,” “a stunning achievement,” “complex and masterful,” “moving, insightful, and deeply human.” “His ability and willingness to see so deeply, to portray a woman and her story so profoundly, takes our breath away,” writes Deena Metzger, poet, novelist, and author of Writing for Your Life.
Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine named The First Thing and the Last one of its “Great Reads” for April 2010.
To learn more about The First Thing and the Last, including the reviews from which the quotes above are taken and links to purchase the novel online, click here.
Allan’s social justice work focuses on what we can do to understand and change our shared legacy of life organized around oppressive systems privilege, power, and difference. Unraveling the knot of privilege begins with getting clear about what privilege really is, about what it’s got to do with each of us, and about how everyone can see themselves as part of the process of change toward something better. Based on more than thirty years of work, he tries to chart a course organized around three questions:
- What are we participating in and how are we choosing to participate in it?
- How do typical ways of thinking about privilege blind us to what’s going on?
- What can we do to make a difference?
His books, The Gender Knot and Privilege, Power, and Difference are written from a deeply held belief that privilege and oppression are not inevitable features of human life and that the choices each of us make matter more than we can ever know. His work offers a practical, compassionate, and readable guide to understanding what we’re stuck in and how to search for a way out.
To learn more about Allan’s work and writing, click on the book covers on the sidebar or use the menu bar above.
The tree image in the banner is a useful metaphor for understanding systems of privilege. To learn more about it, click here.
Photo by Paul Johnson