About Me — Julie Bylli Johnson

Whimsical Writer, Book Doula, and Devoted Wanderer

Picture of author sitting on Imagine in Central Park New York

“Not all who wander are lost.” J.R.R Tolkien.

I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my life, from bungee jumping to moving to a small town where I knew no one to open a bookstore because I had a dream about it. I’ve cleaned up after 37 poodles at 6am and spoken to ambassadors at the UN about uplifting women around the world. I’ve been almost kidnapped as a teen and saved a man’s life in the back of a bus in Mexico (amazingly two different stories). I hope at my wake, my friends tell stories late into the night that include “…and then we did the craziest thing…” and they’ll laugh their butts off. They may arrive as strangers, but they will leave as friends, because in everything I do, I aim to build bridges and plant seeds.

Imagine a much younger me, a single mother working three jobs. Tired in the marrow of my bones. But ever hopeful, I managed to summon the courage to go on a dating site, found the time to communicate between naps, and after much convincing, I even scheduled the mythical babysitter. I was excited- you remember the tingle of a first date brimming with all the possibilities of the future, right?

Warm spring sun and gentle breeze made a perfectly average day in LA. We met for a picnic on the beach. Public but still…