The precise authorship of go ask alice is still a bit of a mystery. I think about james freys public flaying over a million little pieces, a purported addiction memoir which was later revealed to be a literary fraud, and wonder how mrs. Beatrice sparks also penned jays journal, the real diary of a boy that. Beatrice sparks is presented as its editor rather than its author, and one. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. Go ask alice, beatrice sparks in 1968, a 15yearold girl begins keeping a diary, in which she records her thoughts and concerns about issues such as crushes, weight loss, sexuality, social acceptance, and relating to her parents.
And, from the go ask alice articles authorship section. 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. The book this is based on was written by beatrice sparks, a therapist who specialized in antidrug propaganda. Based on the bestselling book, go ask alice recounts a young girls ultimately fatal experiences with drugs in. The manuscript that later became go ask alice was initially prepared for publication by beatrice sparks, a mormon therapist and youth counselor then in her early 50s, who had previously done various forms of writing. The manuscript that later became go ask alice was initially prepared for publication by beatrice sparks, a. Pdf go ask alice book by beatrice sparks free download. In addition, i always found the incidental lesbianism in go ask alice very attractive. Questions of whether or not alice was real person have surfaced, and goodreads credits beatrice sparks as the author. Beatrice sparks was an american therapist and mormon youth counselor who was known for producing books purporting to be the real diaries of troubled teenagers. After several underground and some mainstream movementsthink of elvis presley, james dean. 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 was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 2 pages and is available in paperback format.
I think you mean go ask alice by anonymous aka beatrice sparks, but anywho. It felt like the author beatrice sparks wasnt sure how to end it got sick of writing and just kinda tossed that in there. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Go ask alice is a 1971 book generally viewed to have been written by the author beatrice sparks, however the novel was published originally under the pseudonym anonymous. Beatrice sparks is a family and adolescent therapist who edited the diary that formed the basis for go ask alice, and has since edited many diaries on topics such as gangs, aids, and teen pregnancy in the 1988 annies baby. While some people believe that go ask alice is not a true diary after all, but the wholly or partly fictional work of beatrice sparks one of the books editors and. The main characters of this fiction, young adult story are. It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture. With william shatner, ruth roman, wendell burton, julie adams. Her first work, go ask alice, was published under the byline anonymous in 1971. Originally published in 1971, go ask alice was developed for publication by a freelance writer and mormon youth counselor, beatrice sparks.
It was passed off as a real, anonymous diary for years and years, but the author is actually beatrice sparksdoes this change my opinion of the book. Go ask alice by anonymous beatrice sparks go ask alice. Go ask alice by beatrice sparksembeddoc url downloadall. 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. After several underground and some mainstream movementsthink of elvis presley, james dean, and the beat writerspunctured the conformist bubble of the 1950s, the babyboomers of the 1960s. 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. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, satanism, teenage pregnancy or aids, and are presented as cautionary tales. Therapist and mormon youth counselor beatrice sparks couldnt stay out of the limelight when go ask alice was swarmed with publicity. It is famous for its drugs are bad message, being banned for references to sex, rape and drugs, and almost certainly being a fake. Go ask alice guys, they made an afterschoolspecial movie that is totally faithful to the book and it has a young william shatner. She is a pretty typical teenage girl in the late 1960sshes mostly concerned with school, boys, her hair, and fitting in okay, thats pretty typical for any decade when her fathers new job causes her family to move across the country, alice is thrust into a new school at a time when she is at best sensitive. I believe go ask alice imbued me with a great sense of fear about angel dust, but for some reason the bugscrawling bad trips on lsd in the book didnt serve as a cautionary roadblock.
Im partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is wearing. She wrote several other similar books, all of them by anonymous. The first edition of the novel was published in 1971, and was written by beatrice sparks. Free download or read online go ask alice pdf epub book. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of go ask alice by beatrice sparks. Go ask alice essays are academic essays for citation. Sparks got off without ever having to answer for her trickery. Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. Beatrice sparks fictionally based on the diary of a fifteenyearold drug user chronicling her struggle to escape the pull of the drug world. A story of order and a nightgown with little anchors then a book about an anonymous diary full of lies about drugs and a life not worth living.
However, not long after its publication, beatrice sparks, a psychologist, began making. 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 story, often in the form of a diary of an anonymous teen. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of. By beatrice sparks a fifteenyearold drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world access. Publication date 1982 topics drug abuse, diaries, drug abuse publisher. Rather than being a real life diary of a young drug.
Oh, to be stoned, to have someone tie me off and give me a shot of anything. In interviews conducted over the next few years, sparks identified herself as the books editor and related that alice consisted partly of the actual diary of a troubled teen, and partly of fictional events based on sparkss experiences working with other teens. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my. Beatrice ruby mathews sparks was born january 15, 1917 in the small mining town of goldberg, idaho. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. Sparks had reportedly noted that the general public at that time lacked knowledge about youth drug abuse, and she likely had both educational and moral motives for publishing the book. This study guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of go ask alice. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. R cover art for the 1971 prentice hall first edition.
Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. However, it is the fact or fiction, the story that alice has to tell is one that teens can relate to and learn something from. Go ask alice 2006 read online free book by anonymous in. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks is an epistolary work, meaning that is structured as a series of entries such as letters or in this case, a diary. Go ask alice by anonymous beatrice sparks banned library. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. While some people believe that go ask alice is not a true diary after all, but the wholly or partly fictional work of beatrice sparks one of the books editors and the author of several fictional teen diaries, the diary indisputably evokes the drug and sexsaturated atmosphere of the late 1960s. She started making public appearances as the books editor. See all 25 questions about go ask alice lists with this book. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. I hadnt thought dads friends could be so interesting, and funny.
1131 892 370 602 284 228 740 1226 690 1477 1354 1016 638 1260 930 80 869 138 1189 1222 982 1316 754 930 1497 1098 814 467 958 1365 859 395 603 1407 857 1114 808 433 1386 214 1076 588 371 493 1222 672