About JJ

JJ Barrows is a stand up comedian, published author and mixed media artist…

Okay, wait, sorry, I can’t do these third person bios filled with credits to impress you, let me just tell you about me… from the beginning!

“Jennie Joy,” they said when I popped out into the world, naked as they come, and naked I came except for a head full of hair so thick they called me “the Russian.”

No joke, the Russian…

So there I was, hairy as could be and trying to figure out how to fit into this world along side all of my bald baby friends so delicately covered in peach fuzz.

And thirty-some years later, so goes the rest of my story of trying to figure out how to fit into a world that I wasn’t made for.

I’m still pretty hairy and rough around the edges, but when I take the time to clean up, I smell like a Dotera saleswoman mixed with Dolly Parton’s Front Porch (her perfume, not her actual front porch. God, I wish!). I’m in recovery from being a middle child, a preacher’s kid, a co-dependent, a people-pleaser, being mis-understood when I said no the first time, being broken-hearted one too many times, an aggressive eating disorder, an adult child of a dysfunctional family, divorced parents and severe depression…

All of which is kinda funny now that I’ve been to rehab (twice) and processed it so much in therapy that I think even my therapist started seeing a therapist.

Life happens, and life goes on, whether we want it to or not. While I am by no-means perfect, equipped with all the answers for how to conquer and overcome, I am very much at peace with imperfection, and a little more skilled at navigating the inevitable darker seasons of life.

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As I continue pursuing a career in Stand Up Comedy (still uncertain if I’m supposed to capitalize all of it), I’m sharing stories along the way. My most recent book proposal, Kinda Funny: Stories by a full-time comedian with four part time jobs, was passed by every traditional publisher it was pitched to… “Not enough followers, too small of a platform, who are you?” You get the gist of it.

So here I am, reviving an old blog and trying to keep putting my writing out there, telling myself I am somebody (occasionally in the mirror), and trying to do something instead of nothing. Have you ever crossed your fingers so long in hopes of something happening only to realize you’ve aged 10 years and you could have been using said fingers to get work done that whole time!? Yea, me too.

So while I never thought I’d be back to blogging at nearly 40 years old, the truth is, I ain’t gettin’ any younger, and waiting around wasn’t doing me any favors.

My latest adventure has been moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee from Santa Barbara, CA. I never thought I’d trade the ocean for a land-locked state, but seeing as it’s closer to Dolly Parton’s actual front porch, I’ve grown quite fond of it here. (Consider this your warning that should we be friends in real life or online, you’ll probably hear me talk about Dolly A LOT.)

And mostly because publishers want me to ask, please consider following along here, or joining my email list over on my website at jjbarrows.com.

If you’ve stuck around this long, thanks for joining me on this raw and real journey. It ain’t always pretty, but real life beats all.

Much Muchness,

Jennie Joy

(JJ to most, Jennie to a few,  and “Hey Lady” to the other dog walkers when I don’t pick up after the dog. Kidding, I always pick up after the dog! Hire me 😎.)