Go Ask Alice

It is sad to watch the failing self-esteem of a young, female adolencent. So fragile in a world that they cannot control. It seems that being easily influenced by others and falling victim to peer pressures is a logical outcome due to their incessant need for approval and acceptance. Why wouldn't this child fall victim to the substances that take away her pain and suffering, while welcoming her into a peer group where she finally feels she belongs?

I believe that many adolencents with similar characteristics to the main character will travel down similar paths to exploring with alcohol, drugs, and partying. Yet, only the true "addicts" will continue their paths to self-destruction despite all consequences. It seems that there is no real way of knowing whether someone will become an "addict" until they have already traveled too far in their downward spiral.

I recommend this book as both a depressing but realistic look at a very serious problem that our teenage population faces regularly, and as an educational and cautionary tale to our youth. It explores how very fast an addict can travel from experimentation as a desperate attempt to fit in with his/ her peers - to total loss of morals, self-destruction and finally death. Be prepared for a heart felt exploration into the devastation of addiction.

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 .

The story will leave you feeling sad and feeling sorry to the surely millions of teens/females that experience lives such as the young dairy writer of the story.

You want to be able to wake her up from her addiction, until you realize it's just that... addiction. She can't be brought out of it, save intense therapy surrounded by familial support, etc... which would take years.

This is a good read, but beware: there are some very adult things that happen to this teen, sexually, emotionally, and abusively.

I hadn't questioned the legitmacy of his book when I downloaded it. I only vaguely remembered the title. Half way in I thought.. this is garbage.
The black and white judgements, the "evil" drug doers, and the "great" squares. The glorification of the nuclear family- The leap from one innocently taken drug, down the road to an institution and fatality in 18 months.
It's like "Reefer Madness"

At least, like many drug scare stories from that era, she killed herself.she didn't throw herself from a window thinking she could fly.. or jump off a roof after smoking pot.

Her diary is non sensical. She explains discrepancies that would only matter to an audience.
Ie: how she can write even though her hands are bandaged. Also how she ended up in the institution is written retrospectively- Someone in that much pain and hallucinating would not be able to or bother writing such verbose grammatically perfect sentences even if she did imagine someone would some day read it.
After I finished listening to it I researched and found that it is likely an adult invention.

I believe books like this do more harm than good.
If a young person tries drugs and realizes that the horror stories are baloney, and that "clean" people can do heinous things and users can be kind gentle, and productive, how will children respect or believe anything they are told?

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.

This story from the 60's is enlightening in so many ways. The reader is struck almost immediately by the differences in attitude between the young girl in the story and the youth of today. Although the trouble she brought on herself sounds very familiar, the world she lived and would return to in between her binges seemed simpler and oh so much more innocent. During the writer's "good" times, she didn't seem to have as far to go to wholeness. The shattering I see in today's world is much more complex and not as easily remedied. The ending of the book comes as a shock...You are left really wondering if her druggy friends didn't finally do her in with their hatred of her ultimate good choices....I wish I knew....

This book certainly does a great job in warning people on the dangers of drugs and in providing examples of many, many questionable actions and tragic predicaments that can come with living that kind of lifestyle. Tho, it might make for a better read, as I found this particular narrator's voice to be a tad bit annoying.

Not sure if it's truly an Autobiography - but it's really good and true to life.

I couldn't put it down!