William “Josey” Visnovske was born and raised in the rural lands of Missouri. His father Bill was a hard working man and a conservationist. His mother MaryLee, a woman gifted with knowledge of using the Earth’s bounty to heal the body and spirit. Helping his father to build the family’s homestead in the pines and working on neighboring farms taught Josey the value of hard work at a young age. During this time he discovered the art of story writing. After a bad choice in school left him grounded to his bedroom overlooking the fields where he longed to be running, he wrote a small story. This story led to a realization that putting his thoughts and feelings on paper was helpful in navigating the negative events in a life. This writing was never intended for others eyes, only destined to be tucked away in a drawer for decades.
As an adult Josey found himself drawn to law enforcement, wanting to make a contribution to the world by helping those who could not help themselves. He graduated college with degrees in criminal justice and psychology. After working with local law enforcement for some time, Josey sought out his teenage sweetheart. Despite his difficult and sometimes dangerous career, Sara and Josey were married in 1995.
In 2001 Josey was accepted into the United States Marine Corps Reserve, and served both the Marine Corp Reserves and his federal law enforcement position. Settled in his career and home in south Georgia, the stories he began writing years before starting drawing his interest again. Several newer stories were published under a pen name, but as he poured his soul onto paper it was never intended to be anything more than a repository for his difficult emotions.
As time passed Josey and Sara welcomed 2 sons, raising them in a home filled with compassion and love for the land. He continued his law enforcement career and expanded his assignments by gaining further education in peer support, arson and fire and explosives investigations. He studied and began developing his own understanding of the treatment of those effected by emotional trauma. Working with Dr Jeff Mitchell of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, he researched and authored a study titled, “The Impact of Fatality Fires on Fire Service and Law Enforcement Fire Investigators, Crime Scene Investigators and Firefighters”.
As Dr Mitchell became aware of the stories tucked away in a drawer, he suggested the contents would be useful in helping others. The unlikely duo co-author an expanding collection of books based on the stories Josey has penned throughout the years. The books offer Josey’s honest touching and sometimes humorous observations, and Dr Mitchell’s analysis of how the incidents and the writing about them help the mind heal. The tomes offer guidance for those suffering from or supporting others suffering from emotional trauma.
Since Josey entered his 30th year of law enforcement service, he feels his path is leading him to do more healing. His goal is to educate, guide, and encourage individuals, businesses, and agencies in the understanding and mediation of the human reaction to emotionally traumatic events. Although his specialty is engaging military and first responder personnel, he has always shared his knowledge and passion with any who will listen. It was now time to offer his Roadmap to others.
