Jay's Journal is a 1979 book that was published in a diary format. The book is presented as an autobiographical account of a depressed teenage boy who becomes involved with a Satanic group. After participating in several occult rituals, Jay believes he is being haunted by a demon named "Raul." The book was edited and written by Beatrice Sparks, and is based partly on the life of 16-year-old Alden Barrett from Pleasant Grove, Utah, who died by suicide in 1971. Critics allege Sparks misrepresented Barrett's life and experiences.[3]
In the mid-to-late 1970s, Jay is a religious, depressed teenager who begins a journal after being persuaded by his Sunday School teachers. Jay nicknames his diary Judas and begins writing poetry venting his feelings about conformity, and discusses his parents, who he frequently gets in trouble with. He is friends with two boys named Brad and Dell, who he frequently discusses in his entries.
Jay falls in love with a girl named Debbie Dale, and begins writing odes to her in his journal. Brad and Dell discourage his crush on Debbie, though, because she is known to have dated a lot of boys. Regardless, his crush becomes gradually more intense, to the point where Jay copes with weed when Debbie goes to Phoenix with her parents for her birthday.
For his fifteenth birthday, Jay's dad gives him a job at a pharmacy he works at. When Debbie returns from Phoenix, Jay begins a relationship with her and his infatuation grows. Debbie begins to ask him to lend her amphetamines from the pharmacy that he works at, and makes him cover up the theft by filling the capsules with powdered milk. Although feeling guilty about what he does, Jay is far too infatuated with Debbie to refuse, so he ignores his guilt and does so.
Jay's guilt begins to worsen when he imagines scenarios of people being given the false, ineffective capsules to help their intense pain. He especially feels guilty after hearing about his Aunt Laurel being in intense pain from cancer, to the point where she was "crying and begging him [Jay's dad] to give her something and make her die." His feelings towards Debbie become conflicted, and he tries to maintain his love for her.
Jay is caught stealing drugs by his dad, who angrily fires him on the spot. The pharmacy begins to get into legal trouble, and Jay's dad calls the police and has Jay sent to a juvenile detention center. Jay, who is still writing in his journal, expresses regret over his crimes and reminisces about life with Brad and Dell. He is delighted by the frequent letters that Debbie sends, but then Debbie stops writing to him and they break up, leaving Jay distraught.
Jay eventually meets Pete, who appears different to him. Pete introduces him to matters relating to the occult. In further detail, Jay writes,
"Pete’s into Astara and all forms of the occult. It’s so far out it shatters my wavelengths. He talks so easily about intuition, meditation, ESP, auras, life after death, the oversoul, how much karma a person must erase before they are liberated, how they can better influence the world in the new age, how they can recognize their soul mate, mysticism, esoteric science, hidden teachings of the ancients, the equations of life, etc."
Jay is confused by Pete, but eventually claims to witness Pete move a chair with "mental powers" and make a wart on his finger disappear. He finds himself drawn to Pete, who teaches him and some other boys about different aforementioned topics. He writes about liaisons between him and Pete in which they discuss auras and psychic selves. Eventually, Pete begins giving Jay herbs that make him have strange yet alluring dreams. Jay is upset when he is informed that he will soon be released from the detention center, but his perspective on his family soon improves, and he begins missing them and anticipating arriving home.
Jay is released into the custody of his parents, but finds that his home life is unexciting with all of the conditions. At a dinner with his cousins, he tries to explain the topics that Pete taught him about, but he is shut down. Upset, he renounces his faith and strives to see Pete again. He goes hitchhiking to meet Pete again, who tells him to invite his friends to a group that he's creating. Jay ends up grounded by his parents. At school, Jay tries to explain Pete's teachings to Brad and Dell, who laugh at him.
Jay becomes hypnotized by Pete's teachings, but decides that he needs to get his life together, beginning with getting a job. Jay's dad gives him a job at a stationary store, but Jay feels bored of his life. Jay, Brad, and Dell are eventually roped in by missionaries sent by Pete, who gives them a list of kids to try to bring into the cult. Jay begins to hang out with members of the cult, and has fun with them. Jay has many romantic interests throughout the story, particularly one with a girl named Janie, who spurns him after he doesn't agree to go to a dance with her.
Jay's faith becomes conflicted with the introduction of Satanism. He eventually meets a girl named Tina, who becomes interested in him. They begin having liaisons, and Jay begins to fall in love with her. Tina brings him further and further into the Satanic lifestyle, where she encourages him to take drugs and participate in orgies, often with animals. When Jay decides to step away from the rituals and break up with Tina, she convinces him with witchcraft to stay with her.
The two of them decide to "get married" in a graveyard, where a kitten is strangled on the altar they use. After the wedding, Jay's lifestyle becomes more reckless when he and Tina begin attacking cattle and taking baths in blood to baptize themselves. Jay's writing and poems begin to become more and more unhinged.
Eventually, Jay decides to participate in his school's production of Barefoot In The Park. Another kid takes the role that Jay wanted, but then the kid's appendix bursts, leaving the role open. Jay suspects that Tina may have something to do with the incident, and eventually the two of them break up when one of Tina's ex-boyfriends contact her, which leaves Jay heartbroken once more.
Eventually, Jay has visions of a demon named Raul and believes he has been possessed by Raul. Tragically, both Brad and Dell die in car accidents, seemingly linked to the occult's practices, and Jay becomes sick when he goes to their funerals.
When Jay's little brother Chad becomes unnerved and tells Jay that he doesn't recognize him, Jay determines that he does not feel in control of his body. In one final attempt to save himself from Raul, he decides to contact the Bishop for an exorcism. He writes a note to his parents, requesting that all his possessions be given to Debbie as a wedding gift.
The story ends with an epilogue in the form of a letter written by Jay's mom addressed to Janie. She writes that they found Jay dead, having killed himself from a gun shot to the head. Devastated, she reflects on his life and celebrates the sixteen-and-a-half years he lived.
Response
Some critics have challenged the authenticity of the story, noting that the editor of this book, Beatrice Sparks, has filled the same role on many other "actual, anonymous diaries of teenagers" that explore such sensational themes as drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, and prostitution. These books, the most well-known of which is Go Ask Alice, serve as cautionary tales.[3]
According to a book written by Barrett's brother Scott (A Place in the Sun: The Truth Behind Jay's Journal) and interviews with the family, Sparks used 21 entries of 212 total from Barrett's actual journal. The other entries were fictional, with Sparks claiming they were based on case histories from other teenagers Sparks worked with and interviews of friends and acquaintances of Barrett.[5]
Within the city of Pleasant Grove, Jay's Journal has been the source of many urban legends, including alleged locations where Jay performed actions described in the book, his home, the effect on his family after his death, and other rumors.
In 2004, a local Salt Lake City paper, City Weekly, ran a story containing interviews with the Barrett family and their friends. Apart from pointing out the book's untruths, its authors assert that, ironically, the book Jay's Journal actually inspired imitative acts of what readers took to be Satanic rituals.[6]
A rock opera titled A Place in the Sun was created and performed in 1997 and 1998 by Utah band Grain, led by Bryan Hall. According to some of Alden's family members, it was a more accurate portrayal and showed Sparks' alleged exploitation of the story. [7][8]
In 2022 and 2023, Hall and his band, Bay of Pigs, began live performances of another rock opera telling Alden Barrett's story.[9] It is called Pleasant Grove and was performed as a work-in-progress in Utah at the Springville Utah Rivoli theater in two runs during 2023. The band at the heart of its creation, Bay of Pigs, has plans to continue developing the project for other performances. [10][11]
Related Research Articles
Bachelor Party is a 1984 American sex comedy film directed by Neal Israel, written by Israel and Pat Proft, and starring Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed, William Tepper, and Tawny Kitaen. The film revolves around a bachelor party that a group of men throw for their friend Rick Gassko (Hanks) on the eve of his wedding and whether he can remain faithful to his fiancée Debbie (Kitaen).
Andy Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 July 1996. Andy is the son of Billy Hopwood and Trisha Hopwood and the adoptive son of Jack Sugden and Sarah Sugden.
Dawn Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves, who plays Garry Hobbs, would be written out of the soap and the character made her final appearance on 27 August 2009. Dawn has been described as a "tart with a heart" character. In 2007, the character was involved in a storyline where Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by Dr. May Wright and Rob Minter ; their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts.
Beatrice Ruby Mathews Sparks was a Mormon youth counselor, author, and serial hoaxer, known primarily for producing books purporting to be the "real diaries" of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, Satanism, teenage pregnancy, and AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales. Although Sparks presented herself as merely the discoverer and editor of the diaries, records at the U.S. Copyright Office list her as the sole author for all but two of them, indicating that the books were fabricated and fictional.
Tina Reilly is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Leah Hackett. Since making her first appearance in August 2006 as part of the McQueen family, Tina has been involved in storylines including sexual harassment and surrogacy. Tina was killed off in a church explosion on 17 October 2008, shortly after Hackett decided to leave the serial. Tina briefly appeared in a flashback on 20 November 2014 when the McQueen family remember her half-sister Carmel Valentine at her funeral.
"The American Dad After School Special" is the second episode of the third season and the twenty-fifth overall episode of the animated comedy series American Dad! It aired on Fox in the United States on September 17, 2006, and is written by Dan Vebber and directed by Pam Cooke.
"Tracy Does Conan" is the seventh episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by the series' creator and executive producer, Tina Fey and it was directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Adam Bernstein. It first aired on December 7, 2006, in the United States and November 29, 2007, in the United Kingdom. Guest stars in the episode included Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Rachel Dratch, Dave Finkel, Maulik Pancholy, Chris Parnell, Aubrey Plaza, Keith Powell, and Dean Winters. Conan O'Brien appeared as himself in this episode. The episode marks the first appearance of Chris Parnell as recurring character, Dr. Leo Spaceman.
The Battle Creek massacre was a lynching of a Timpanogos group on March 5, 1849, by a group of 35 Mormon settlers at Battle Creek Canyon near present-day Pleasant Grove, Utah. It was the first violent engagement between the settlers who had begun coming to the area two years before, and was in response to reported cattle theft by the group. The attacked group was outnumbered, outgunned, and had little defense against the militia that crept in and surrounded their camp before dawn. The massacre had been ordered by Brigham Young, the Utah territory governor and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The formation of the Mormon settlement of Utah Valley soon followed the attack at Battle Creek. One of the young survivors from the group of 17 children, women, and men who had been attacked grew up to be Antonga Black Hawk, a Timpanogos leader in the Black Hawk War.
Gary Windass is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Mikey North. The character first appeared on November 14, 2008, along with his parents, Eddie and Anna Windass.
"Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by show producers Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Alan Alda, Kay Cannon, Donald Glover, Napiera Groves, Chris Parnell, Paula Pell, and Sherri Shepherd. In addition, "Kidney Now!" featured many musical guest stars including Clay Aiken, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, the Beastie Boys, Steve Earle, Adam Levine, Sara Bareilles, Wyclef Jean, Norah Jones, Talib Kweli, Michael McDonald, Rhett Miller, Moby, Robert Randolph, Rachael Yamagata and Cyndi Lauper, all as themselves.
"The Fabian Strategy" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 81st overall episode of the series. It was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, and written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 23, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Mario Brassard, Matt Damon, Jan Owen, Paula Pell, and Jeffrey Schara.
"When It Rains, It Pours" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 82nd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-show runner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by series producer Don Scardino. "When It Rains, It Pours" originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 30, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Joanna Adler, Ben Bailey, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Castaldo, Paul Giamatti, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Parnell, Sherri Shepherd, and Brian Williams.
Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Michael Parr. He made his first appearance in episode 6600 of the soap, broadcast on 9 July 2013. Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas, before being revealed to be the nephew of Moira Barton. The character is initially characterised as a bad boy and a "nasty piece of work". The softer side of Ross' personality is explored when he enters a secret relationship with police officer Donna Windsor, who has terminal cancer. When Donna dies, Ross bonds with her daughter April Windsor.
Payton Anthony Henry is an American professional baseball catcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins.
From 1996 to 2006, Megan Huntsman, an American woman, murdered six of her newborn children shortly after giving birth to them in Utah.
↑ Teen Death Diary by Ben Dieterle in Salt Lake City Weekly, June 3, 2004, discusses the issues and controversies related to Barrett's death and Jay's Journal. Archive.org link access 4/27/2014.
↑ Pleasant Grove Rock Opera Pleasant Grove rock opera website containing information about scheduled performances, the band Bay of Pigs, and the development of the show. Link accessed 2/19/2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
