At 22, Jay thought of himself as a loner and says he chose friends poorly. One night after drinking, someone joked about breaking into the chemistry building on his college campus. The others dismissed the idea, but Jay planned it and went through with it. He avoided detection that night but was arrested later and booked into the county detention center at about 1 a.m. Alone in a cell, the weight of what had happened hit him. He felt his life as he knew it was over and decided the world would be better off without him. He began to make a plan to end his life and started to cry. Just as he was about to act, a voice came from a vent in the top left corner of the cell. An inmate in the next cell called out, ‘Hey, is this your first time?’ Jay answered yes. The man asked if he could pray for him. Jay had been raised religious but had drifted away; in that moment he accepted. He doesn’t remember the exact words, only that they landed. Instead of wanting to die, he felt a surprising lift of hope. Jay calls that brief, unexpected exchange the pivotal moment that changed his course. Nearly ten years later he says he has a good job, a girlfriend who loves him, and a life he values — all because another inmate had the courage to speak and be kind. He wishes he could find the man to thank him in person. My Unsung Hero is also a podcast with new episodes every Tuesday. To share your unsung hero story with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected].
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