Invisible Wounds of War project brings veterans’ invisible wounds to light through writing and photography. It seeks to provide healing experiences for veterans through writing and photography and to increase the public’s awareness of the veterans’ experience. The project is created and directed by Jen Johnson.
Invisible Wounds of War project was a time limited project that was offered in 2015 and 2017. The 2015 project culminated with an exhibit at the University of North Carolina Wilmington library. The 2017 project culminated with an exhibit at The Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County. Some of the photographs and writing from both of those projects can be found on the exhibit page.
During 2015 and 2017, we offered writing and photography workshops and created exhibits of the veterans’ work. Please visit the exhibit page to view the work. It is our hope that the online exhibit will continue to promote healing and awareness regarding veterans’ concerns.
“Recently, the Arts Council supported the Invisible Wounds of War project during which veterans across the state wrote about the unseen wounds of war. The project helped me better understand my own wartime experiences.” –Clyde Edgerton, Salt magazine April 2017
Check out the video with four of the veterans who participated in the project in 2015:
Project Mission:
Many Veterans don’t share their stories because they feel that other people can’t bear to hear them. This project offers a place for the stories to be told about the invisible wounds of war and gathers an audience to bear witness to the stories.
Veterans are dying by suicide at a rate of 22 per day. This is an urgent epidemic that constitutes a community and public health concern. This project intends to offer connection, hope and healing through writing and photography. It seeks to educate health care and mental health providers about Veterans’ concerns and needs. It intends to engage the community in conversation that encourages greater understanding of and compassion toward our North Carolina Veterans.
Writing and photography are powerful tools for telling people’s stories and for healing. Writing can help to make order from the chaos. Photography makes meaning of experience where language fails. This project offers a safe space in which Veterans can share their stories and connect with other people who are willing to share theirs. When one person shares their story, it gives another person permission to share theirs. We can transform the Veterans’ narrative into one that ends with hope.
If you are a Veteran in crisis or are experiencing suicidal thoughts please call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. This project does not offer crisis intervention services, but we encourage you to please seek help if you have having suicidal thoughts and/or a plan. Whatever you’re experiencing, it can get better with professional help.
Invisible Wounds of War currently has no plan for future workshops. It was intended to be a time limited project to raise awareness about veterans’ concerns. If you are interested in writing for healing, please inquire about Written Exposure Therapy (WET) or Written Narrative Exposure Therapy through your local VA office. Therapists at the VA are being trained at some locations across the US in WET as a form of therapy for PTSD. The research on this method is encouraging.
There are several projects across the U.S. that currently offer veterans writing workshops.
Invisible Wounds of War project was directed by Jen Johnson.
Jen Johnson, MS, MS, MFA, LPC is a writer, photographer and counselor in private practice. She has worked as a counselor since 1991 and offers mindfulness-based counseling and therapeutic writing and photography in her clinical practice. Jen is the former Statewide Coordinator for the Independent Living Needs Program for the Veterans Administration in Atlanta, Georgia. Her writing has been published in regional, national and international print and online magazines and blogs, literary journals, and professional training manuals, and her photographs have been exhibited internationally and are held in collections by hospitals, medical centers, universities, financial institutions and private collections.
Project Sponsors:
This project was offered in partnership with The Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County, a non-profit and local affiliate of the North Carolina Arts Council.
This project was made possible in part by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
