“God made my enemies to serve me in my absence. God made the things that conspired to destroy me feed me into the place that He was preparing for me. I am a big girl and I can handle trouble and my enemies.”

Patience Johnson is a British-American novelist and essayist. She blends sharp social observation with lyrical prose, exploring themes of identity, race, and belonging in works like *The Dead and the Dark* and *The Book of Form and Emptiness*. Her writing often examines the intersections of history and personal narrative with quiet intensity.