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JT Leroy(also JT LeRoy)is an American author who has written three novels, entitled Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things, both of which are being made into movies. His latest novel, Harold's End, tells the story of a child prostitute, with a pet snail named Harold, who is befriended by Larry, a rich older man with unusual proclivities was published in September 1, 2004.
The author had a rough life as a young man and was discovered turning tricks on the streets of San Francisco. He was later treated at the McAuley Institute by Dr. Terence Owens, whom Leroy credits with saving his life.
Leroy was encouraged to write several stories about his early childhood experience, convinced by Dr. Owens that these accounts would help to train a class of prospective social workers. The resulting collection, The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, relates the stories of Leroy as he passes, at age four, into the care of his 18-year-old mother. He then travels around the country with his mother, facing abuse from his mother, her numerous boyfriends, and his violently fundamentalist Christian grandfather.
His first novel, Sarah, is semi-autobiographical and tells the tale of a 12-year-old boy very much like Leroy. He grows jealous of the beauty of his mother, and passes himself off as a female "lot lizard" (a prostitute at a truck stop) in order to gain fame from the pimp who runs a truck-stop brothel in West Virgnia, filled entirely with young boys dressed as women. The story itself has many of the elements of The Heart..., but it has much more humor, farcical in its account of Leroy's quest, naming himself Sarah after his mother, to become the greatest "lizard" in the brothel. Much as in his previous work, he comes into bad times and faces expliotation and abuse at the hands of another pimp. Suprisingly less dark than the short story collection, the novel has a distinct mythical/Dickensian feel and relates a story of love of a child's mother, expressed through his imitation of her.
A recent New York Times interview of him revealed that, unfortunately, JT's mother, also named Sarah, was no longer alive. On a positive note it also cited that his therapy / recovery was coming along very well and that he had many people who cared about him.
JT was lucky to befriend Oregon director Gus van Sant, who bought the rights to his books and encouraged him to write more. He helped with the writing of van Sant's Elephant, a film about two teenagers who go on a Columbine-esque shooting spree. Other fans of his work include singer Madonna and group Garbage, whose song Cherry Lips is in fact about him. His life has since gotten better and he is currently helping with the movie versions of his novels, as well as writing lyrics for a band called Thistle and also misc. articles in magazines. He went through a period of standard counseling and found a stable place to live, gaining a steady boyfriend and adopting a child.
JT is notoriously camera-shy and often, perhaps borrowing a page from artist Andy Warhol, wears a wig and / or glasses when in public. He avoids the media but does greatly appreciate his fans, and e-mails them whenever he can.
The movie version of his story The Heart is... stars a young woman named Asia Argento, as well as a cameo by rocker Marilyn Manson, playing a tempermental truck driver. His own web-site http://www.jtleroy.com/