Go Ask Alice is an anonymous journal that was published in 1971. The dates in this journal, belonging to an unnamed teen, range from 1968-1970. This journal has instigated controversy among book readers regarding the scandalous things this young girl often finds herself involved in. The question is, are these real life hardships of a troubled teen, or a fictional money maker for publishers?
In this book, the teen faces problems involving drugs, sex, homelessness, and tension between her and her fellow highschoolers. Don’t you think this seems a bit much for a 15 year old girl to handle? Well you’re not the first to question it. Psychologist Barbara Mikkelson pointed out,” If these accounts were real, how would this girl have the time to document all them in such detail?” Also, publishers have listed the book under fiction, but on the book cover it says “A Real Diary”, and the author is listed as “Anonymous”.
The editor of Go Ask Alice, Beatrice Sparx, used to be a psychologist and a Mormon youth counselor. She claims the book is based off of one of her old patient’s diaries. She later went to edit several other “Anonymous” diaries of her patients. Among the diaries is Jay’s Journal, which is the journal of a boy who committed suicide after being involved with the occult. His parents came forward and said the book was only based off of a couple of entries of his real diary, and the whole occult angle on the situation was false.
There are many different conspiracies regarding these “Anonymous” journals. Maybe they were real, maybe they were based off real people, or maybe they’re just plain fake. Regardless, it has been said these journals were published to warn teens the possible consequences of certain actions. So are these books real or fake? You decide.
Article By: Miranda Alonzo
Picture:
