Open Letter to Dr. Phil From Jenny Hill
Open Letter to Dr. Phil From Jenny Hill
Judy Byington and I have been close friends for 20 years. She has been my confidant and dearest friend. She and her husband have adopted me as part of their family and I feel they are my family. I trust Judy completely. She listens to me when I hurt and need consolation. Judy has given me her time, love, acceptance, money, food, bought me glasses, clothing and on occasions even provided me a place to live.
At no time has she ever tried to take advantage of me. Without Judy’s love and concern over the years I might not be alive today.
Judy has not been my therapist as they said on the Dr. Phil show. I have a therapist at Wasatch Mental Health. My other therapist was Dr. Weston Whatcott at the Utah State Psychiatric Hospital who was one of a team of mental health professionals who diagnosed me with Multiple Personality Disorder now known as Dissociate Identity Disorder. That was ten years before I met Judy.
Early in my life I decided I wanted to have my biography written to help other victims of the horrible abuse I suffered as a child. I asked Judy to write my biography. It was my decision to deliberately bring some of my parts forward so Judy could meet them. Last August at the request of producers at the Dr. Phil show, Judy and I taped my alters taking over.
I understand that after the Dr. Phil show aired some people may have the impression that I would not receive a profit from the sale of my biography,”Twenty-Two Faces.” That is not true.
I am fully capable of making my own decisions and if I wanted to set up a bank account for monies received from the sales of my book I could and would do so. It has been my decision not to set up an account at this time. Judy and I haven’t talked much about profits from the book because it has yet to make a profit. I have told Judy I don’t want to make money off “Twenty-Two Faces” but wish my share of profits to go toward helping victims of ritual abuse. That has been the goal of both Judy and myself since we started writing the book 20 years ago. It’s not about the money. It’s about being able to help ritual abuse survivors.
Another concern has been the contract I signed with Judy giving her copyright to my story. I agreed to sign the contract knowing this was because our literary agent required my and Judy’s literary, electronic and film rights to the story in order to present the book to publishers. I made this decision myself, knowing exactly what I was doing. I took my time to think and pray about this and when I signed the agreement I did so of my own volition and was not manipulated into doing it.
I also want to make it clear that I have multiple personalities or DID. Most of the time I am in complete control of myself but occasionally one of my alters will take over and do something which I am not aware of. I can’t remember doing it and I can’t help that. I am moving forward with my life one day at a time and making progress.
I understand the following is a statement about me written by my sister Susan. It is taken from my son Robert’s blog on the internet..
“She has confided in me on numerous occasions that Judy Byington has manipulated and used her. I have a recently-recorded phone message from Jenny stating that she does not condone what Judy has done with her life story. She has been repeatedly lied to and has been harassed so much by Judy that her case worker at Wasatch Mental put a restraining order against her (Judy). Jenny complained that she wants some help to get away from Judy so that she might tell her own version, but Judy holds the copyright to her life story, and she (Jenny) legally can’t speak out. ….”
I cannot remember calling Susan and saying these things, nor would I even think of saying something like this.
It is common for me to get depressed. In December I checked myself into inpatient care and told my caseworker that no one was to know where I was including the only two people who I have regular contact with, my son Robert and Judy.
I do not believe Judy has manipulated and used me. I do not believe Judy has ever lied to me. Judy has never harassed me. I did not ask my caseworker to file a restraining order against Judy. I do not want any help to get away from Judy. I certainly do not want to write another version of my story. It took Judy and I 20 years to write “Twenty-Two Faces.” I don’t want to do that again. Judy has never said I can’t speak out about my life story. In fact, Judy encourages me to speak about it and has given me opportunities to do so.
I asked Judy to write my biography. We wrote it together. We outlined what was to be in each chapter and then I wrote out the chapters. Sometimes my alters would take over and write their feelings in the chapters. The book was taken from those writings, those in my diaries and my writings at the Utah State Hospital.
I completely agree with my life history as it is written by Judy in “Twenty-Two Faces.”
I stated on the Dr. Phil show that it was hard for me to read the book. And it is. I read a little bit and then have to put it down because my childhood is very traumatic and reading about it brings back bad memories. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know what’s in my biography because I do. I lived it. I helped write it.
Because of the time restraints of a TV show like Dr. Phil I didn’t have the opportunity to say everything I wanted to say.
This is my statement and no one else’s.
See my notarized letter of 14 January, 2013 on www.22faces.com.