Women of Controversy: Beatrice Sparks

Beatrice Sparks (1917-2012) was an American writer known for “Go Ask Alice,” “Jay’s Journal,” and “It Happened to Nancy.” The books were positioned as cautionary tales of “real” teens, but were almost entirely fictional. Her books stoked fears about drug use and the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s.

For Further Reading: 

• The New Yorker: How a Mormon Housewife Turned a Fake Diary Into an Enormous Best-Seller
• The Salt Lake Tribune: Here’s how a teen’s death took a reporter on a tour of a small town’s dark history
• BYU Archives: Beatrice Sparks

This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy -- whether deserved or not.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about women who found
themselves at the center of controversy, whether deserved or not.
You may have seen her book on a library shelf
or passed around school hallways in hushed whispers. Teens shared
stories from the real diary of an anonymous girl's descent

(00:26):
into addiction. But this diary is a complete fabrication and
the first of many in a long line of fictional
diaries by troubled teens written by the serial con artist
Beatrice Sparks. Beatrice Sparks was born on January fifteenth, nineteen seventeen,
in a mining town in Idaho. Her parents moved the

(00:48):
family to Utah before divorcing, leaving Beatrice's mother alone to
support the children. Beatrice dropped out of high school to
join her mother in the workforce, but eventually left Utah
for sunny California. While working in California, Beatrice met Lavorne Sparks,
a Mormon entrepreneur from Texas. The two married, and, thanks

(01:08):
to some prosperous oil investments, became very wealthy. Though Beatrice
was now the housewife to a rich Man, she wanted
a career of her own. She started publishing her poetry
and writing in advice columns, but received little recognition for
her work. After Beatrice's son started college at Brigham Young University,

(01:30):
the Sparks family relocated to Provo, Utah. Beatrice and her
husband became active members of their Mormon church and community.
She even contributed to the church's newsletters and other publications.
Then came Beatrice's first foray into a scheme, albeit indirectly.

(01:51):
Beatrice was hired to write educational scripts to be recorded
onto vinyl by low level celebrities. Those records were then
sold as sets in a multi level marketing scheme. The
job didn't last long, but it got Beatrice in close
contact with television host Art link Letter. Link Letter was
a big name and family TV with a lot of

(02:12):
poll Beatrice tried to use their working relationship to her advantage,
but it wasn't until link Letters suffered a family tragedy
that he called on her. Link Letter's daughter died by suicide,
and he became convinced that LSD played a role in
her death. He became a steadfast voice in President Nixon's
campaign against drugs. The public attention on psychedelics, paired with

(02:36):
link letters grieving, inspired Beatrice to pitch a manuscript she
was working on. According to Beatrice, she'd been volunteering at
a local hospital and had befriended a young girl struggling
with addiction. After the girl died suddenly, she said, Beatrice
somehow got a hold of the girl's diary and edited

(02:57):
it down. Letter helped Beatrice get it published. Buried Alive,
The Diary of an anonymous teenager told the story of
a troubled teen who dove into the underworld of drug
addiction after drinking a soda spiked with LSD. Beatrice hoped
to see her name on the book's cover, but the

(03:18):
publishing house had questions. How did Beatrice get a hold
of the diary, who was the unnamed narrator, and what
were Beatrice's qualifications. The book's editor felt putting Beatrice's name
on the book was risky. Instead, they published the book
anonymously and renamed it Go Ask Alice. The book became

(03:43):
a bestseller, spawning a TV movie starring William Shatner in
nineteen seventy three. While teens loved the book, parents were
not fans. The depictions of sex, drugs, and addiction, and
Go ask Alice made it one of the most widely
banned books of the decade, which only made it more sodat.
After Beatrice was sitting on a gold mine, but most

(04:04):
people didn't know she was behind one of the market's
most popular books. Beatrice started doing press claiming she edited
Go ask Alice. When a grieving Utah mother read that
Beatrice Sparks was behind the acclaimed diary, she called Beatrice
and hoped she would do the same for her son's journal.
Her son, Alden Barrett, had struggled with depression and found

(04:27):
himself at odds with his conservative Mormon community. He liked
the protagonist in Beatrice's book, had also abused drugs and
run away from home. When his girlfriend's parents discovered his past,
they forced her to break up with him. Alden, distraught,
ended his life soon after. Beatrice took the boy's journal

(04:49):
and published her own version of it in nineteen seventy eight.
But Jay's Journal, as Beatrice's book was titled, was nothing
like Alden's real life. Jay's story was about a boy
deeply involved in devil worship and animal sacrifice. Beatrice had
taken just a few details from Alden's diary and fabricated

(05:10):
a world of satanic panic around it. Alden's family was
never told when the diary would be published. Instead, they
found the book on shelves. To make matters worse, people
picked up on the details Beatrice had kept in the book,
discovered Alden's identity, and harassed his family. Jay's Journal was

(05:32):
just one piece of literature that contributed to conspiracy theories
of cults and satanic worship in America. Beatrice's writing was
part of a larger moral panic that sought to blame
youth depression, drug use, and sexual activity to boogeymen like
satanic cults. Beatrice continued to publish so called real diaries

(06:01):
throughout her career, touching on relevant subjects at the time
like eating disorders, abuse, and aids. Go ask Alice remained
her most famous work, never going out of print, with
nearly five million copies sold. Beatrice Sparks died in twenty twelve,
she was ninety five years old. After her death, investigations

(06:23):
into the veracity of her work picked up steam. A
twenty twenty two book, Unmasked Alice LSD, Satanic Panic and
the impostor behind the world's most notorious diaries, takes a
deeper look into Beatrice's life and works uncovering her hoaxes
and complicated history. All month, we're talking about women of controversy.

(06:46):
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.