Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries

In 1971, the United States was embroiled in a new war. The Nixon administration had initiated a “War on Drugs,” whereby a heavy hand would be applied against users and dealers to satiate the “Law and Order” silent majority. Drugs were considered a scourge upon the public, with experimentation being a one-way ticket to a strung-out and homeless life.

One particular book, the diary of a runaway addict named Alice, would become a symbol for wayward youth and the need for the war. Beatrice Sparks longed to achieve success as a writer, but had hit a brick wall creatively. The death of a celebrity’s daughter, allegedly due to drug use, prodded her to promote a diary she found. The book would be titled Go Ask Alice. The cautionary view of a teenage addict would sell millions, influence many, and yet questions as to its authenticity would lie dormant, until now.

Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson goes a long way to showing what investigative journalism could be in the right hands. The investigation into the work of Beatrice Sparks and her bibliography is intriguing and worth reading. Her motives were questionable, her history suspect, her subjects tragic, but this book is undeniably buzzworthy.