Unmask Alice : LSD, satanic panic, and the imposter behind the world's most notorious diaries / Rick Emerson.

Emerson, Rick, author.

Book

Dallas, TX : BenBella Books, Inc., [2022]

xiv, 366 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

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. But Alice was only the beginning. In 1979, another diary rattled the culture. 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: a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards.

Sparks, Beatrice -- Criticism and interpretation.

Young adult literature, American -- History and criticism.

American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.

Literary forgeries and mystifications -- History -- 20th century.

Teenagers -- United States -- Social conditions -- 20th century.

Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

LSD (Drug) -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Literary criticism.

Prologue: The pretender -- About a girl -- The boy who died -- Gods and monsters -- Contagion -- Shine a light -- Epilogue: After forever.

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