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Wounded Wings: One Man’s Secret Struggle
Wounded Wings is the true story of Gilbert Johnson, a tragic young man who chased adventures around the world, all the while dreaming of becoming a novelist. He especially wanted to tell a story based on his life, but a secret struggle shackled his creativity. Meanwhile, Gilbert found safety by earning a black belt in karate. Ohara Publications hired him as the Assistant Editor of Black Belt magazine, and following the death of Bruce Lee, he was assigned to edit Lee’s memoir Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Gilbert also practiced falconry, and flew his birds while living in Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Despite all his travels, Gilbert fell in love with a woman, but their affair wavered on and off for years. He couldn’t commit to marriage because of confusion about his sexual orientation. Ten years of childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a close family member distorted his mind.
This book concludes with information to help identify potential pedophiles, lists warning signs of abuse, and offers helpful resources, all in the hope that other children might be saved. Additionally, a Certified Graphologist offers in-depth handwriting analyses of both Gilbert and his mother.
Despite all his travels, Gilbert fell in love with a woman, but their affair wavered on and off for years. He couldn’t commit to marriage because of confusion about his sexual orientation. Ten years of childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a close family member distorted his mind.
This book concludes with information to help identify potential pedophiles, lists warning signs of abuse, and offers helpful resources, all in the hope that other children might be saved. Additionally, a Certified Graphologist offers in-depth handwriting analyses of both Gilbert and his mother.
236 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2025
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1674 people want to read
About the author
Jeanne Donovan
1 book7 followersSister, wife, mother, grandmother, silver clay jewelry artist, author, children's game designer, and world traveler to Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Chile, South Africa, France and Mexico. Married to a geology professor who has made my adult life pure joy--a great contrast to the heartbreaking and disruptive childhood I shared with my brother Gilbert, for whom our book was written. Our half-brother Ronald co-authored the book with me. He is a mechanical engineer within the Department of Energy and holds a Professional Engineering license. He has also served as a forensic expert witness in accident reconstruction litigation throughout the state of Texas.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 23, 2026
Blast my inability to focus.
This book is actually a quick read. It just took me a long time to get through it for life reasons.
I have mostly positive, but sort of mixed feelings on this book. On a basic level, it's the story of Gilbert Johnson, a man who died during the height of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, told by two of his siblings. More than that, it's an exploration of generational trauma, specifically sexual trauma. And, I'm not sure how intentionally, a look at the trauma of repression inflicted on the LGBTQ community. Perhaps more importantly, it's a celebration of a man's life beyond the statistics and sadness.
I was surprised by how timely some aspects of the book were. As at one point, I was reading excerpts of Gil writing about experiencing the overthrow of the Iranian government in 1979, and then History did its rhyming thing. Also, as the powers that be are trying their darndest to shove gay people back in the closet and return the US to their twisted vision of 1950s TV America, this book reminds the reader of what sexual repression and the demonization of homosexuality can do. I could be misreading things, but I do worry that the authors maybe lean a bit into the "sexual abuse caused the gay" sort of idea, which is of course, nonsense. But cultural taboo and religious oppression do often drive folks who don't fit societal norms to unhealthy behavior, which definitely seems to have happened with Gilbert.
While Gil's struggle with understanding his sexuality is an important element of his life (likely he was bisexual, but who can say how his sexuality would have manifested in a healthy and accepting society), and sadly contributed to his untimely death, his life was much more than that. What you get in this book is a picture of a sort of classic Mid-Century adventurer, a guy who wasn't happy with a quiet life, who traveled far, learned voraciously, and lived large. There's a section where his brother Ronald talks about going to stay with him for a while when Ronald was young, and it reminds me of some of those people I met in my youth in the 80s and into the 90s, who lived lives I didn't understand, but who seemed somehow outside of regular society in the most bold and exciting ways. Characters you remember decades later, like certain smells or bits of music that make you hunger for a world outside the one you know.
Having worked in several book stores over the years, I often sold and shelved Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and it was fascinating and unexpected to find that I was reading the biography of the man who assembled that book in the wake of Lee's death. Also, unexpected John Saxon cameo!
When all is said and done, I'm glad Gilbert Johnson's story is out there. I hope he is remembered. He's one of those people you hear about and wish you'd had a chance to meet, to share a meal and a conversation with. I've been lucky in life to have met many people like that, but it only makes me wish I could meet more; or could meet all of them. It makes me sad that the world was what it was, and that ultimately, it overwhelmed Gil. I hope we don't fall back into that sort of world, no matter how much some folks are trying to make it happen.
The back end of the book returns to the subject of sexual abuse, with resources and things to watch out for.
This book is actually a quick read. It just took me a long time to get through it for life reasons.
I have mostly positive, but sort of mixed feelings on this book. On a basic level, it's the story of Gilbert Johnson, a man who died during the height of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, told by two of his siblings. More than that, it's an exploration of generational trauma, specifically sexual trauma. And, I'm not sure how intentionally, a look at the trauma of repression inflicted on the LGBTQ community. Perhaps more importantly, it's a celebration of a man's life beyond the statistics and sadness.
I was surprised by how timely some aspects of the book were. As at one point, I was reading excerpts of Gil writing about experiencing the overthrow of the Iranian government in 1979, and then History did its rhyming thing. Also, as the powers that be are trying their darndest to shove gay people back in the closet and return the US to their twisted vision of 1950s TV America, this book reminds the reader of what sexual repression and the demonization of homosexuality can do. I could be misreading things, but I do worry that the authors maybe lean a bit into the "sexual abuse caused the gay" sort of idea, which is of course, nonsense. But cultural taboo and religious oppression do often drive folks who don't fit societal norms to unhealthy behavior, which definitely seems to have happened with Gilbert.
While Gil's struggle with understanding his sexuality is an important element of his life (likely he was bisexual, but who can say how his sexuality would have manifested in a healthy and accepting society), and sadly contributed to his untimely death, his life was much more than that. What you get in this book is a picture of a sort of classic Mid-Century adventurer, a guy who wasn't happy with a quiet life, who traveled far, learned voraciously, and lived large. There's a section where his brother Ronald talks about going to stay with him for a while when Ronald was young, and it reminds me of some of those people I met in my youth in the 80s and into the 90s, who lived lives I didn't understand, but who seemed somehow outside of regular society in the most bold and exciting ways. Characters you remember decades later, like certain smells or bits of music that make you hunger for a world outside the one you know.
Having worked in several book stores over the years, I often sold and shelved Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and it was fascinating and unexpected to find that I was reading the biography of the man who assembled that book in the wake of Lee's death. Also, unexpected John Saxon cameo!
When all is said and done, I'm glad Gilbert Johnson's story is out there. I hope he is remembered. He's one of those people you hear about and wish you'd had a chance to meet, to share a meal and a conversation with. I've been lucky in life to have met many people like that, but it only makes me wish I could meet more; or could meet all of them. It makes me sad that the world was what it was, and that ultimately, it overwhelmed Gil. I hope we don't fall back into that sort of world, no matter how much some folks are trying to make it happen.
The back end of the book returns to the subject of sexual abuse, with resources and things to watch out for.
Displaying 1 of 1 review