Scott Lloyd Posted August 3, 2022 Posted August 3, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, smac97 said: As a cautionary tale of the importance of sticking to true stories, consider Beatrice Sparks: I'm pretty sure Sparks just made most or all of these up. Her books read like a checklist for social worries of the era (drug addiction, satanism, gang violence, teen pregnancy, etc.). I would like to think that she did so with a sincere - though substantially misguided and flawed - desire of cautioning youth, as opposed to writing this stuff for self-agrandizement, notoriety, money, etc. But that's likely just wishful thinking. Giving too big a benefit of the doubt. In any event, deliberately trying to pass off a fiction as fact can really create some problems. See, e.g., here: Thanks, -Smac Go Ask Alice was getting a lot of traction when I was in high school. Later, during my college years, my best friend who was a psychology major, was reading Jay’s Journal. I was a bit surprised to learn that both books had a setting from our own milieu. How interesting after all these years to read this back story! I’m feeling a bit betrayed now, even though I never got into either book. People, people! Don’t make up fiction and then pass it off as fact, even if you think you have the noblest of aims. In the long run, you do more harm than good. Edited August 3, 2022 by Scott Lloyd 1
Scott Lloyd Posted August 4, 2022 Posted August 4, 2022 On 8/2/2022 at 12:56 PM, smac97 said: As a cautionary tale of the importance of sticking to true stories, consider Beatrice Sparks: I'm pretty sure Sparks just made most or all of these up. Her books read like a checklist for social worries of the era (drug addiction, satanism, gang violence, teen pregnancy, etc.). I would like to think that she did so with a sincere - though substantially misguided and flawed - desire of cautioning youth, as opposed to writing this stuff for self-agrandizement, notoriety, money, etc. But that's likely just wishful thinking. Giving too big a benefit of the doubt. In any event, deliberately trying to pass off a fiction as fact can really create some problems. See, e.g., here: Thanks, -Smac This post made me curious, so I went on YouTube last night and watched the movie “Go Ask Alice,” which is based on the book by that title. It seemed somewhat dated and cheesy, as any early-1970s made-for-TV movie is apt to seem nowadays. Despite that, it was fairly impactful, and if it reflects the book’s impact, the book was praiseworthy. It’s just a shame the author could not have been more transparent regarding this and her other novels being fictional. (As an aside, the movie had some fairly prominent actors of the day, including William Shatner, Andy Griffith and McKenzie Phillips.) 2
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