It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager
Encyclopedia
It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager is a book for young adults by Beatrice Sparks
. It purports to be the actual diary, only edited by Sparks, of a teenage girl who gets AIDS
through being raped. However, Sparks has released similar books
where the authorship has been called into question.
concert with her friends. While there she has an asthma attack and an eighteen-year old boy named Collin helps her. He takes her outside and tells her to relax. From that day on she starts talking to him every day after school. One night, she invites him to her house when her mother is not home, and he rapes her in her mother's bed. After that night, when she begins to look for Collin, it turns out that he does not study in the college he told her. She begins feeling very sick later on, and easily exhausted. Then one day, when her mother takes her to the doctor, she has blood samples
taken. She then learns that she has HIV
and doesn't know what to do; she just wants to die and feels that she doesn't have anything on earth for her. She decides she wants to find Collin and have him go to jail for raping her. She describes his appearance to the police. Her closest friends do not know what is wrong with her, thinking her father is sick and that she has gone to Arizona because of it. She does not want to tell them that she was raped by a boy who she thought was the love of her life. While at school most of her fellow students do not know that she has HIV, but her friends support her the whole way. Nancy and her parents become closer even though her parents are divorce
d. Later she dies and wishes for her diary to be published so that other young teenagers like her can know the real truth.
". However, Nancy never gets better and her health takes a steep decline from there. The doctor then decides to test her for HIV without telling her or making her sign a waiver. In addition she gets the results a few days later. The book came out in 1994 and spans a couple of years so if the story takes place in 1992 it would have taken 2-3 weeks for her to get the results. Also, the doctor would have informed her of the test so that she would be aware she could be infected and not infect anyone else. They wouldn't have known if she was infected that quickly. Even now, if you know you've been exposed, you have to wait 3 months to get tested and usually must get tested again at the 6 month mark.
Beatrice Sparks
Beatrice Sparks is an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who is known 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 or AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales...
. It purports to be the actual diary, only edited by Sparks, of a teenage girl who gets AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
through being raped. However, Sparks has released similar books
Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl. The book continues its claim to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs, but this has been dismissed as false. Beatrice Sparks is listed as the author of the book by the United...
where the authorship has been called into question.
Plot summary
Nancy is a fourteen-year-old girl who just wants to have fun while at a Garth BrooksGarth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
concert with her friends. While there she has an asthma attack and an eighteen-year old boy named Collin helps her. He takes her outside and tells her to relax. From that day on she starts talking to him every day after school. One night, she invites him to her house when her mother is not home, and he rapes her in her mother's bed. After that night, when she begins to look for Collin, it turns out that he does not study in the college he told her. She begins feeling very sick later on, and easily exhausted. Then one day, when her mother takes her to the doctor, she has blood samples
Venipuncture
In medicine, venepuncture, venopuncture or venipuncture is the process of obtaining intravenous access for the purpose of intravenous therapy or for blood sampling of venous blood. This procedure is performed by medical laboratory scientists, medical practitioners, some EMTs, paramedics,...
taken. She then learns that she has HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and doesn't know what to do; she just wants to die and feels that she doesn't have anything on earth for her. She decides she wants to find Collin and have him go to jail for raping her. She describes his appearance to the police. Her closest friends do not know what is wrong with her, thinking her father is sick and that she has gone to Arizona because of it. She does not want to tell them that she was raped by a boy who she thought was the love of her life. While at school most of her fellow students do not know that she has HIV, but her friends support her the whole way. Nancy and her parents become closer even though her parents are divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d. Later she dies and wishes for her diary to be published so that other young teenagers like her can know the real truth.
Controversy
Nancy gets sick a week or two after being raped. Some people do experience flu-like symptoms a short time after being exposed to HIV, which is called "seroconversionSeroconversion
Seroconversion is the development of detectable specific antibodies to microorganisms in the blood serum as a result of infection or immunization. Serology is used to determine antibody positivity...
". However, Nancy never gets better and her health takes a steep decline from there. The doctor then decides to test her for HIV without telling her or making her sign a waiver. In addition she gets the results a few days later. The book came out in 1994 and spans a couple of years so if the story takes place in 1992 it would have taken 2-3 weeks for her to get the results. Also, the doctor would have informed her of the test so that she would be aware she could be infected and not infect anyone else. They wouldn't have known if she was infected that quickly. Even now, if you know you've been exposed, you have to wait 3 months to get tested and usually must get tested again at the 6 month mark.