Go Ask Alice

By: Anonymous

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Life at 15 isn't easy for a girl if she's shy and hates the way she looks. Each day is heaven or hell, depending on who talks to her, or who doesn't. So when she's finally accepted by a group, she doesn't refuse their party games, even if it means taking LSD. Soon she's taking little pills to wake up and others to go to sleep, and the days begin to blur. Leaving the secure, middle-class circle of her family, she travels into a nightmare realm of hustlers and dealers. Homeless, driven by drug highs and lows, she sometimes tries to regain control over her life. But it's much easier to just get high again.

Based on a 15-year-old's diary, Go Ask Alice is the intimate account of one girl's fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country.

©2006 Lee Smith (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary work....a document of horrifying reality." (The New York Times Book Review)

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book. It is amazing how she goes from an innocent kid to completely messed up in such a short while. I wish I knew what ended up happening to her.

Eye opener

Really interesting and worth the read. I couldn't stop listening to it. Truly amazing. Good book for teenagers who are curious or have been involved with drugs.

This book was meant for me

I love this book. I can really relate with her on some things. I've read this book 4x. I don't think I can ever get tired of it.

Great story

Ever since the first time I read this book it has been one of my favorites.

Such A Good Read!!

I read this when I was 13, twice. I am now turning 28 & listening to the audible years later. This book will never get old to me.

Blast from the past

I read this book back in the 70s or early 80s
before they banned it from my school library. I enjoyed the re-read, even though it’s a very sad book. The reader did a great job.

Meemaw in the sky with diamonds

I love literary hoaxes, sensational autobiographies that turn out to be bogus. Go Ask Alice is the mother load. A PSA passed off as the real deal; the real diary of a real teen who ODs. The voice of our 15 year old heroine is written like shes 64. Gram wrestles with her attraction to cute girls and her love of highly addictive drugs like blotter Acid and the Weed. Dont get me wrong, Gram loves her uppers, downers and cute boys too. She also bakes, bangs, hangs with the fam, runs away, lives in roach infested walk ups and on the street, starts her own head shop with a girl friend, works the counter at a jewelry store and winds up in mental ward. Shes in and out of school so many times I lost count. The voice of this troubled teen is inauthentic from the start but when she starts complaining about the fuzz, the war, bummer trips and the establishment, sh*t gets super cringey. This is a time capsule and such a PSA it includes stats on teen devolopment and drug related deaths, but there is some effective writing going on too and between the schlock, some real sadness--- like her parents welcoming her home over and over--- or crying on the phone after not hearing from her for weeks on end. All their hoping, loving and trying. It got to me. Read, enjoy, roll yr eyes.

Good book to discuss drugs

Any additional comments?

This is a good book to read about a good girl who got caught up with bad people.I read this book when I was a teen . Now ,I listened to it in my car with my kids age 7,10,12 all boys. We stopped the book many times to discuss and open the discussion on drugs.The boys really liked it and saw the tragedy that can result from getting involved in drugs.And since it is a true story and in diary form the kids could relate to author.Great book to help walk in someone else shoes and learn from their mistakes.I do highly recommend .

Must read coming of age novel!

This book was recommended to me years ago by a young man in his 20's whom I worked with. At the time I had one coming of age daughter and another one just a few years away. I wanted to talk to my daughters about the consequences of drug use and inform them of how drug addiction does not discriminate and about how easy an innocent person can go out for an evening of what they thought was harmless fun and have the course of their life changed forever. Substance abuse affects individuals of all classes, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds. This novel helped me to convey this message to my girls without it sounding like a lecture. This book moved my eldest daughter so much that four years later when my youngest daughter was 12 my eldest reminded me that her sister should read this book like my eldest had to help her prepare for some of the temptations in the world. Just keep in mind that there is strong content in this book as it talks about sex, drugs, cruelty, violence and death. However, as a substance abuse counselor, I assure you that most middle and junior high students have already acquired the knowledge on the topics that are discussed in this book.

Great insight

Page turner, disappointed with the end but the rest was a great story. Recommended for sure.