"Contact", the book by Carl Sagan.

Contact Essay Ellie Arroway, the main character of Contact is forced to persevere through many obstacles, starting with the death of her father who she was close to. Project Argus (the team of researchers Ellie is over) has been unsuccessful after many attempts to achieve contact with another unearthly being. Religion and faith is a cloudy issue because of her near-atheist stance toward God. From relationships to achieving Project Argus's goal, Ellie life takes many …

…were led back to their ship and sent home. Their arrival at Earth wasn't at kind to them as they thought. Kitz interrogated and debriefed Ellie, and concluded that Ellie and the others that went on the machine made up their story. Ellie was threatened with slander, if she told anyone else about her experience. Ellie is left with her amazing unearthly experience, that she can share with no one, but regardless, Ellie made contact.