Beatrice Sparks

1917–2012

1 standalone book

Beatrice Sparks was an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who produced books presented as the "real diaries" of troubled teenagers. These works addressed topics such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and AIDS, and were marketed as cautionary tales. Although she claimed to be only the editor and discoverer of the diaries, records from the U.S. Copyright Office show she was listed as the sole author of all but two of them. Sparks began working with teenagers in 1955 after attending the University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University. She worked as a music therapist at Utah State Mental Hospital and taught continuing education courses at Brigham Young University. Critics have questioned the accuracy of her qualifications, as she was listed as "Dr Beatrice Sparks, PhD" on some publications, but no confirmation of her doctorate was found. Her first book, Go Ask Alice, was published in 1971 under the byline "Anonymous."

Born

1917