“If God give you a status, don't turn yourself to a statue. Don't become a monument. God still want to reside inside you but not in a monument.”

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.