How to Change Your Mind

From Albert Hofmann accidentally discovering LSD after the worlds first unexpected acid trip, to Timothy Leary and his cries to “turn on, tune in and drop out” that drove the drug underground, and it's current scientific resurgence - it's been a long strange trip indeed for LSD.

Digging out from the countercultural baggage of the 60's, psychedelic research is showing remarkable efficacy in treating depressions, addiction and the existential anxiety of the terminally ill. But Pollan takes things a step further and recounts several of his own guided sessions, his first at age 60. These aren't recreational binges or microdosing sessions but heroic doses administered with the help of trained professionals.

But Pollan himself notes how hard it is to share these experiences. How they tend to cliche and the outright banal. “Love conquers all.” “We are all one.” But at the same time, in the grip of a psychedelic episode, these take on profound import.

Pollan brings the same level-headed reason that he applied to food in a Defense of Food to psychedelics, perhaps leaning a bit harder on the science given the controversial nature of his subject. I think I would have liked a bit more wide-eyed wonder but maybe I'm not the one the book is meant to convince. Full video review here: https://youtu.be/DtYcGwm6Of4