Local self-published author wears many hats in community

McKENZIE, Tenn. — David Johnson is a man who wears many hats, but in all his pursuits, the McKenzie resident still keeps his roots right here in West Tennessee.

Johnson is a chorus director, a licensed therapist and a self-published author.

“A friend of mine said that you’re like a Renaissance man,” Johnson said. “You do all these different things, you know, and I was like, I don’t know what the Renaissance man is. What is that?”

In the ’70s, Johnson had a degree in music and was working as the music director at Dresden High School when he went back to college for a degree in social work. Now, the McKenzie-based counselor looks back and sees his work as a gift he gives to others.

“I like being a counselor. I enjoy that very much. I feel like God wants me to do that, that I have a gift for that, and that I need to use that gift to help people,” Johnson said.

Yet, more people know him as David Johnson, the author.

Johnson has sold more than 500,000 copies of his books, many of which are set in West Tennessee. The most popular of those books, the Tucker series, is set in Weakley County.

“It turned into something that I totally didn’t expect it to turn into. It was just kind of a hobby, something I thought would be fun to do, and it still is that way,” Johnson said. “All of my characters are completely fiction. But if any person decided to create a character, then the character they created is going to be created from pieces of the people they know.”

Johnson’s years as a therapist in McKenzie means he’s helped people on every economic level. For him, the story of Tucker is more than just a story.

“I wanted to challenge people’s view of the poor, because we have a very prejudiced view of the poor,” Johnson said. “I wanted to show them how that a person might live in that situation, not through any fault of their own, but life’s circumstances. That’s just how they find themselves, and then to show that these people have incredible resilience, have incredible heart.”

When it comes to directing his chorus, writing his novels or listening to a patient, Johnson says his inspiration is simple.

“There’s a thread of connection between all these things though, you see. The connection is that all of them influence people’s hearts,” Johnson said.

He says that the chorus does this with passion.

“To me, music is about passion, and I’m very, very passionate when I’m working with my chorus,” Johnson said. “It’s about emotions, making connections with people, drawing people in, and pulling your audience in to your performance.”

No matter how many books he sells, and no matter how many performances he conducts, Johnson wants the community and his family to know who he is at his core.

“I would hope that people would see me as man that is trying to please God and glorify Him in everything that I do, in every role that I have,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s ninth book, “Ransom’s Law,” was released last October. Johnson says it has already sold more than 4,000 copies.