Nashville, TN – Ft. Worth singer/songwriter Dan Johnson has spent his entire adult life contemplating the after effects of military service after his father, Terry Johnson, took his own life when Dan was only 10 years old. Everyday our country salutes our military service men and women for their service, but their journey does not end when that service is over.
Many suffer from mental, physical and emotional issues long after their duty is done, and according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs 21 active military veterans take their own lives every day. Johnson released the “Hemingway” project earlier this year, a 5 song EP and companion book that addresses this issue that is considered a crises in our country. The “Hemingway” project is a deeply emotional piece of work that has attracted national attention since its release both through the music and stories and the US tour. NPR’s All Things Considered just featured Johnson’s personal message to all military veterans, and all of us civilians who can truly help and become a part of the solution. See the story here.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/
NPR’s story focuses on Johnson’s father who served in the U.S. Air Force before he was injured and discharged in 1978. As a veteran, Terry struggled to adjust to civilian life, but because of his injuries could not hold a job and support his family. That sense of failure led him to depression and eventually a mental break where he “took the Hemingway way out,” as Dan so poetically puts it in the title track “Hemingway.” The brilliantly written song is inspired by his Dan’s father and is dedicated to all military veterans who may be dealing with similar feelings of guilt and loneliness. The “Hemingway” project dives into the mental and emotional turmoil felt by those contemplating suicide and speaks to the devastating effects that decision has on the loved ones left behind. www.hemingwayalbum.com