About the Book
“This was the news I had dreaded.”
For forty-five years, Jonnie and Thomas Brown built a life together. They supported each other through college, marched together to receive their degrees, formed a family, traveled, and shared the love of a lifetime.
When Thomas fell ill on a trip to Florida, everything changed. He was admitted to a local hospital where, within days, he died—the victim of neglect and treatment below the medical standard of care.
In You Promised to Do No Harm, Thomas’s widow, Jonnie, tells their shocking personal story, shedding light on implicit bias and detailing the struggle that people of color face when equal treatment doesn’t apply. It’s a call for families to advocate for their loved ones, for the medical community to consciously understand how bias affects their decision-making, and for each of us to address healthcare disparity to keep our loved ones alive.
Jonnie & Thomas on a Caribbean cruise. December 2008.
About the Author
Jonnie Ramsey Brown holds an MBA and is a CPA and Certified Information System Auditor. She worked at colleges and universities for over twenty years and served on the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games organizing committees. Jonnie retired from the Department of Homeland Security in 2019.
An award-winning writer, Jonnie has traced her family back to slavery and the American Revolution. She is the family historian and storyteller, holding membership in many lineage, genealogical, and historical societies. Jonnie resides in Metro Atlanta, bringing awareness to racial disparities in healthcare in honor of her late husband’s legacy.