About Author
About the Author
Denise Gathings Harris is a 23-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department whose life and work have been dedicated to serving, protecting, and uplifting her community, where she has received numerous life-saving awards, accommodation awards, community awards, and awards from the base organizations.
Throughout her career, she has served as a community policing officer, tactical officer, and a leader in ministry, youth, and senior citizens programs, building relationships that extended far beyond the badge.
Driven by a passion or given voice to the unheard, Denise Road and produce the musical stage play “My Soul Cries Out Stop,” inspired by the lies of young people lost to violence in Chicago. With the blessings of their families, she brought their stories to the stage with authenticity, dignity, and compassion. The production became a source of healing for both audiences and cast members, helping many express emotions that had long been buried. Its impact was so profound that the Chicago Tribune followed the play and its journey throughout the city for an entire year.
Denise’s writing is rooted in real life. The stories she tells are drawn from experiences. She witnessed as a police officer, a mother, a community servant, and a woman of faith following the devastating loss of her daughter to Broken Heart Syndrome, a door open within her that could no longer be closed. Her grief, years of memories, emotions, and untold stories-stories of pain, survival, healing, and redemption that demanded to be written.
Today, Denise writes to inspire change, spark conversations, and bring healing to others. Her books and plays explore the realities. Many people live through but rarely discuss through every page and every performance she seeks to open doors that have been shut, she speaks to what has been hidden, and reminds others that even the deepest wounds can become a source of strength, purpose, and hope.
