Joy Walker

Joy Walker’s sight began failing in her early teens. She visited America from Jamaica, seeking a diagnosis. Declared legally blind, Joy returned as a permanent resident in 1972. After obtaining rehabilitation services for psychosocial adjustment to visual impairment from the Carroll Center for the Blind, in Newton, MA, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Springfield College, MA.

Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, Joy worked as a counselor, and as a Braille and Communication Skills instructor with special needs blind adults at Therapeutic Living Center for the Blind in Pasadena, CA. She homeschooled her two children until divorce and a diagnosis of breast cancer curtailed those efforts.

Shortly after the divorce and her mother’s death, Joy, at age 48, was launched into menopause by the first chemotherapy treatment. This only intensified her struggle as a legally-blind single mom raising two teenagers. While enduring eight rounds of chemotherapy and 36 radiation treatments, Joy attended classes at the Braille Institute, in Los Angeles, where she acquired computer skills through the use of adaptive technology. Nine years after her mastectomy, she chose to have reconstructive surgery which, as she puts it, “made me feel normal again.”

In 2016, Joy Walker self-published her book, Journey to Joy: An Inspirational memoir. “She vividly describes her journey with breast cancer, expressing her emotions in spellbinding poetry and prose.

As a 26-year cancer survivor, Joy continues to be an advocate and speaker for various organizations, using her gifts of poetry and music to encourage others. Joy is a two-times Literary Titan award winner.