This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. Dec 27, 2009 clipfirst few minutesfrom the 1973 tv movie. Is the book go ask alice based on a real girls diary. Go ask alice unknown a book describing a teenage girl s experiences with various drugs and typical teenage problems, i.
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. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2. And i read the book, which turned out to be a real diary of a teenage girl. This girl had a lot of self esteem, and was very happy. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage girls all. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. Named for grace slicks mindexpanding white rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed to scare young readers away. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent. 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.
For thirtyfive years, the acclaimed, bestselling firstperson account of a teenage girl s harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. 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. Named for grace slicks mindexpanding white rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed to scare young readers away from experimenting with. Tell them a hookahsmoking caterpillar has given you the call call alice when she was just small when the men on the chess board get up and tell you where to go. The novel was promoted as the real life diary of an unknown teenage girl who, readers assume with the abrupt ending, died of a drug overdose. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication.
This is all to say that i essentially have go ask alice memorized. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Beth returns from camp, but alice finds that beth has changed. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. Both chris and alice decide to go to san francisco thinking that moving to a different place is going to help them with quitting their addiction and habits towards drugs, alcohol, and. Alice gets a job working with chris, and the two become best friends. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. Alices parents worry about alices hippie appearance. On a normal day in alices world, she decides to buy a journal to write in it every week to record her. Mary rose does have problems with addiction, but she also.
Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. Mar 23, 2017 published in 1971, at the height of the psychedelic era, go ask alice is a visceral and harrowing depiction of a teenage girl s fatal decline into drugs. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. To ask other readers questions about go ask alice, please sign up. Go ask alice, which reads like a diary, describes a teenage girl s experiences with narcotics and sex.
In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. But those of you old enough to remember the latter portion of the 70s might remember that beatrice sparks, the editor of go ask alice, also edited a bunch of other alarmist books aimed at teens, all supposedly taken from teenagers diaries. 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 anonymous diaries paperback january 1, 2006. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education, medicine, counseling, and a number of. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. Apr 25, 2014 go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my. Challenges in 1978, school boards in richmond and langley, b. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girl s fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details.
Reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. Howling hilarity upon rereading the book in this context. 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. Go ask alice when shes ten feet tall and if you go chasing rabbits and you know youre going to fall. Nov 20, 2003 based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girl s fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. 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. Everyone who encounters go ask alice goes through the same four stages titillated horror, for the young reader, at the books dramatic depictions of drug use. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from. 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. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. Go ask alice is a supposed diary of a young girl caught up in the wild life of drug abuse in the late 1960s. Jefferson airplane go ask alice lyrics metrolyrics.
The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Some people maintain that alice in wonderland can only have been written by an author with considerable hallucinogenic mushroom experience under their belt. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. This passage from the book go ask alice was when alice first decided to quit using drugs and to stay clean. This story scares the hell out of you through a teenage girl. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have. Jan 04, 2008 do you know anything about the book go ask alice.
As powerful and as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Go ask alice book ottawa public library bibliocommons. Jan 22, 2018 reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971, of an anonymous girl who took drugs and diedis an experience so widely shared that theres little point personalizing it. The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. This book is a dairy kept by an unnamed girl who takes drugs in the early 70s. Based on the bestselling book, go ask alice recounts a young girl s ultimately fatal experiences with. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the reallife diary of an anonymous teenage girl. The book focuses on the life of a teenage girl who wants to be happy and accepted by others. Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. The most famous of these literary works was 1971s go ask alice, presented as the diary of an anonymous teen girl who began her career as a stoner at age 15 and died of an overdose just weeks after. Sparks worked for the late television host art linklater whose daught. When the family moves for the collegeenglishprofessor fathers new job, alice apprehensively approaches the unfamiliar and befriends another shy girl, beth, who shares her outsider status. Its written in first person in traditional diary form. 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. Its said that the author of the book upon which this movie was based wrote it as a work of. Sep 16, 2012 go ask alice 1973 full movie miss flowahs. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. 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. Authentic, tragic tale of teen drug addiction a classic.
At the beginning of the book, alice is a typical, insecure, middle class teenager that only thinks with boys, diets, and popularity. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture. Fawn a straight girl who befriends alice at the end of the book and accepts her into her. Go ask alice was a fake, but dear nobody is an actual, legitimate unless someone finds otherwise reproduced diary of a teenage girl. The book go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. 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. Alice alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. In case you arent familiar with it, its supposedly an anonymous diary found by the parents of a fifteen year old drug user after she. I think that this book shows you the consequences of drugs.
It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book. 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. Unable to sleep, she receives powerful tranquilizers from her doctor. Its said that the author of the book upon which this. Go ask alice is written in the form of diary entries from the perspective of a 15yearold girl. This story follows the typical template for the say no to drugs genre of liturature. It strongly represents the unfortunate realities connected to the lives of young drug users. Jul 03, 2014 go ask alice was a fake, but dear nobody is an actual, legitimate unless someone finds otherwise reproduced diary of a teenage girl. 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. She is a regular kid who is going to school like all the other kids but one day the drugs came into her life and she is desperately trying to stop using them. Published in 1971, at the height of the psychedelic era, go ask alice is a visceral and harrowing depiction of a teenage girl s fatal decline into drugs. Her life is normal, until she falls prey to drug addiction. Go ask alice essay go ask alice go ask alice is the diary of a young 15 year old drug abuser.
Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of go ask alice. A book about a girl with drug addiction and she writes about drug life. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug habit at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. When the family moves for the collegeenglishprofessor fathers new job, alice apprehensively approaches the unfamiliar and befriends another shy girl, beth, who shares her. Based on the bestselling book, go ask alice recounts a young girl s ultimately fatal experiences with drugs in the early 1970s. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks goodreads share book. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Alice and chris are both dissatisfied with the establishment and their own families.
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