Is the book go ask alice a true story

Even now im not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things ive gotten from books. These books, the most wellknown of which is go ask alice, serve as cautionary tales. A year later came jays journal, the diary of an adolescent boy who succumbs to satan worship, which similarly credited dr. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. Returning to it as an adult feels a bit like youre taking part in a piece of pop culture in the vein of scared straight or reefer madness. Im only interested in staying true to my creative impulse and finding a way to write the stories that i. Go ask alice is a reference to a jefferson airplane song called white rabbit, which alludes to rampant hallucinogenic drug use in lewis carrolls alice in wonderland. Go ask alice teaches you what can happen when you get into drugs and its hard to stay away from them once you have started and know how easy it is to get ahold of them. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971.

It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. The whole book is a fetid lie, and a poorly executed one at that. Reyna marie to clear the matter, this novel was not based on a true story, nor is the events following alices life, or characters factual. With william shatner, ruth roman, wendell burton, julie adams. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. Go ask alice on apple books apple books apple apple. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alice s true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back everything is still packaged to make out this is nonfiction. He and alice get to know each other better, as does her family. After publication, go ask alice was exposed as a fraudulent work, not the diary of one girl but cobbled together by an author from the.

Alice is not only a celebrated professor at the height of her career, but is also a worldrenowned. Bailey welcomes a fresh start at the prestigious boarding school, prescott academy, far away from the painful memories of her mothers death and the unendurable. The shocking true story of a teenagers descent into darkness perfect for fans of the smashhit netflix series, thirteen reasons why. This quiz is based on the anonymous book entitled, go ask alice. Im taking an adolescent literature class this semester and the first book were reading is go ask alice by anonymous. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. In the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky, this heartwrenching story chronicles a girls fatal experience with testing her moral limits and the dangers of addiction. May 22, 2019 when i called my friend kelly to discuss my revelations about go ask alicekelly is the selfdeprecating friend i rely on to temper my personal humiliations with her reliably more outrageous gaffesshe wanted to know if i was joking. Go ask alice is based on a true story about a teenager who becomes addicted to drugs. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away.

Still alice is a novel about alice howland, a cognitive psychology professor at harvard, who finds out at age fifty that she has alzheimers disease. Bookbanners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they. Creating film adaptations for movies has become very common because directors can be sure that their target audiences are intrigued by the topic of their future film. This is an extreme of what happened to one girl as she went the wrong way in life. Literary hoax aside, i have some other thoughts to share about go ask alice heres the true story on episode 58. Go ask alice guys, they made an afterschoolspecial movie that is totally faithful to the book and it has a young william shatner. The movie is based on the book of the same name that was published in 1971. Only publishers weekly threw shade, remarking that it seems awfully well. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous.

Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Jul 03, 2014 go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alice s true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. Alice meets a freshman at the university library, joel. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. These are conventional curses rarely used by alice, and their inclusion here makes it clear that alice finds the world both spiritually enlightened and debased. But the big difference between alice and a lot of other kids on drugs is that alice kept a diary. It is famous for its drugs are bad message, being banned for references to sex, rape and drugs, and almost certainly being a fake. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. It has sold over four million copies, was adapted as a tv movie with william shatner, and is still in print over 40 years later.

Go ask alice by beatrice sparks as anonymous banned books. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs and eventually seeks help. I am looking for nonfiction, true story books, similar to. Jan 02, 2009 throughout the book i questioned the authenticity of it somewhere in the middle. Go ask alice which, btw, was insanely popular when i was a kid is a work of fiction that is commonly attributed to a therapist not a psychologist named beatrice sparks. Beatrice sparks, whom is known to the general public as the editor of go ask alice, populated the false impression that this book was based off of the diary of a young girl, whom fell into the elaborate and dangerous life of a drug addict. I honestly believe it was something made up as a scare tactic for parents of teens and teens in the 70s. Not alice beatrice sparks doesnt have a website, but one person has built an entire website about the book anyway, so click on through for all things alice. After participating in several occult rituals, jay believes he is being haunted by a demon named raul. She concludes the first diary with the words i love god.

Go ask alice was the product of beatrice sparks, an author who has come out with a number of teens who saw their lives ruined by their bad choices offerings, each one presented as a true. Go ask alice is a shining example of people passing something off as a true when, in reality, its just as carefully constructed as any other novel. The heavyhanded body image stuff in the beginning of the book was hard for me to read. Jays journal is a book presented as an autobiographical account of a depressed teenage boy who becomes involved with a satanic group. Edwin strattonmackay go ask alice is a politicallyfunded novel, a terror story to frighten the young and generate scapegoats. The credibility of go ask alice as a non fiction memoir has always been debatable over the years, but when a book comes out with a near mirrorimage plot of the first, you know somethings really fishy. Pressure to use drugs at school intensifies, as the kids harass alice and her family. Jan 04, 2008 go ask alice was the product of beatrice sparks, an author who has come out with a number of teens who saw their lives ruined by their bad choices offerings, each one presented as a true.

D espite the popularity of go ask alice, the mystery of the diarists identity has never been truly solved, and none of her relatives have ever come forward to claim a share of the royalties. While the books origin was once steeped in controversy, it is mostly forgotten now. Go ask alice bears the authenticity of its present day, even if its own authenticity has been discredited. The book is written in diary form, but the author is anonymous. Nowadays ya lit is pretty universal harry potter really opened the doors for people to read childrens books no matter what their agebut in 1971 when our book was written that wasnt really the case. Go ask alice now streaming on youtube is a 1973 movie based on the once alleged true story of a young drug addict named alice.

Its about her life, her struggles with drugs and friends. Reyna marie to clear the matter, this novel was not based on a true story, nor is the events following alice s life, or characters factual. This is the true story of a young girl caught in the chaos of the drug scene. Email go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. And then last night, when i finished it smiling because it ended well i saw the epilouge and immediately got upset. The story starts off like any other book, with a normal day and a normal family. The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. Alice alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. Alice could be anyone she could be someone you know, or someone you love and alice is in trouble. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.

In go ask alice, the diary is written by a teenage girl over a twoyear period and chronicles her experiences with drugsmainly marijuana, acid, and speed. Its getting harder and harder to be able to ascertain whether something really is a true story, or if its just a tagline someone came up with as click bait. At first the book left me feeling shocked that this was a true story and i totally believed everything i read and then when i found out it was fake it just makes the you. Aug 16, 2019 literary hoax aside, i have some other thoughts to share about go ask alice. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of. Back in 1973, though, most involved with this may still have thought they were depicting a true story rather than an amalgam of kids on drugs scare story.

Sep 03, 2009 according to, go ask alice was based on an actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who died of a drug overdose in the late 1960s. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. I read it when i was in the seventh grade and was absolutely terrified by the searingly honest portrayal of what i assumed it felt like to do drugs. The back cover states that this is a book about the harrowing true story of a teenagers descent into the seductive world of drugs. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have. Though go ask alice is a classic, its not a good book. A truly sad book, go ask alice is a true story published after the death of the main character by her family. Go ask alice became a cult classic in the 1970s, revealing the inner thoughts of a teen in turmoil and detailing her attempts to pull herself out of her druginduced haze. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. But what does this have to do with go ask alice everything. The original book, alices adventures in wonderland was written in 1865, whereas go ask alice wasnt written until 1971. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alices true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that.

This tragic and extraordinary true life story shows the devastating effect that drugabuse can have. Sparks worked for the late television host art linklater whose daught. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. This weeks episode of the podcast was all about go ask alice, and all i can say is. Like a blink of an eye the main character turns towards drugs, sex, and running away. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in which we live. According to a book written by barretts brother scott a place in the sun. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. For helpful context, listen to the episode here and brush up with a summary of the book here. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication.

Then she is invited to a party, a special party where the drinks are spiked with lsd and alice is never the same again. Rather than being a real life diary of a young drug. In the same vein, go ask alice is young adult literature because thats the audience it was specifically geared toward. Go ask alice quiz trivia quiz sparks, beatrice funtrivia. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction.

In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. I read go ask alice the book as a young and naive kid, and as far as i knew it was. Go ask alice was a stark counterpoint to the freewheeling ethos of the early 70s that was ahead of its time, eventually fitting in perfectly with the war on drugs and d. Go ask alice is about a 15 year old girl who is tricked into taking lsd. Though i suggest that everyone read this book, i do agree with my mother, that for certain reasons, the reader must be mature enough to digest this true story of a girl, and not mock it or pull its lines to pieces with sayings such as. Is the book go ask alice based on a real girls diary. Go ask alice is unnecessary proof that sex and drug stories are the best money makers. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get into drugs, and it can scare young kids away. Now streaming on youtube is a 1973 movie based on the once alleged true story of a young drug addict named alice. Jun 30, 2012 the shocking true story of a teenagers descent into darkness perfect for fans of the smashhit netflix series, thirteen reasons why.

It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture. Mar 23, 2017 then, in 1978, a book called voices, a compilation of stories about troubled teens, was released, with jacket copy attributing it to beatrice sparks, the author who brought you go ask alice. The book is based on true events of 16yearold alden barrett from pleasant grove, utah, who committed suicide in 1971. The truth behind jays journal and interviews with the family, sparks used roughly 25 entries of 212 total from barretts actual journal. For all its strengths, still alice belittles the reallife. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to return home and stay clean, her pleas to god to. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i found out the real story. Though the story was widely criticized as a complete fabrication and dismissed as propaganda, its message remained powerful. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. Cover of the 2011 arrow books paperback edition, containing the words this is alices true story. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of go ask alice. When i called my friend kelly to discuss my revelations about go ask alice kelly is the selfdeprecating friend i rely on to temper my personal humiliations with her reliably more outrageous gaffesshe wanted to know if i was joking.