JT LEROY LIVES!!!
The moral of the story is in the very last lines of this article: the actual writer does not believe it is a hoax. She IS JT Leroy.
She is obviously mad, and obviously talented --
otherwise the illusion could not have continued.
Talent will always out.
It is not enough to be weird. You have to also be able to write a hell of a sentence.
That a therapist was tricked and extended the illusion exposes the poor practice some therapists have of doing therapy over the telephone. Many times when I was in therapy I tried to get my doctor to do this, when I felt I was too fucked up/depressed to get out the door. But they still wouldn't. I understand why now. There is no cathexis/catharsis whatever ...without a face-to-face.
The first deception, getting through to a famous gay writer as a GAY person, is also of note...
'The media virus' that created piles of cash... what a great description! She better not give back a nickle.
I totally support her in the deception, as I have been burned in this respect.
I'm not mainstream-male-gay. As a writer on the topic of S&M,
I was picked up here and there, more than once, as an interesting freak case, gayish and a sexual anomaly... and then dropped for whatever queer reason of the moment. E.g., Ira Silverberg was my publicist when he worked for Grove Press... and sequed to unsupportive later on, with one exception -- the "High Risk" anthology... So I am happy to see them all burned by Ms. Laura Albert -- who, when all is said and done, IS JT Leroy.
I believe the work will live, even though there has been a media blackout on Ms. Albert. Correct me if I'm wrong.