Review: Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson

Author: Rick Emerson
Publisher: BenBella Books
Publication Date: July 2022

In 1971, Go Ask Alice reinvented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of sex, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, Go Ask Alice terrified adults and cemented LSD's fearsome reputation, fueling support for the War on Drugs. Five million copies later, Go Ask Alice remains a divisive bestseller, outraging censors and earning new fans, all of them drawn by the book's mythic premise: A Real Diary, by Anonymous.

But Alice was only the beginning.

In 1979, another diary rattled the culture, setting the stage for a national meltdown. The posthumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, Jay's Journal merged with a frightening new crisis—adolescent suicide—to create a literal witch hunt, shattering countless lives and poisoning whole communities.

In reality, Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal came from the same dark place: Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards.

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries is a true story of contagious deception. It stretches from Hollywood to Quantico, and passes through a tiny patch of Utah nicknamed "the fraud capital of America." It's the story of a doomed romance and a vengeful celebrity. Of a lazy press and a public mob. Of two suicidal teenagers, and their exploitation by a literary vampire.

Unmask Alice . . . where truth is stranger than nonfiction.

Unmask Alice is a look into the real story behind the books, Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal.  I know these books were a really big when they came out and have always been on the summer reading lists.  Both books are supposed to be real life diaries of a couple of teenagers.  One deals with dug addiction and the other teen suicide and depression.

I will admit, I never read either of these books.  I just never had the desire as neither of the subject matters interested me enough when I was in high school.  I did enjoy this book though.  I hadn't realized until I picked it up that there was even a controversy.  What Beatrice Sparks did, especially to the parents of the real "Jay" is just wrong and I'm glad this has been exposed.  I also had a bit of nostalgia because I lived through the Satanic Panic era and did read books like "Michelle Remembers".  What a crazy and sad time that was.  I definitely would recommend this one.  It was engaging and I learned a lot.