Trippy : the peril and promise of medicinal psychedelics / Ernesto Londoño

Author: Londoño, Ernesto
Published: New York : Celadon Books, 2024.
Copyright Date: ©2024
Edition: First edition.
Physical Description: viii, 303 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

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Contents

Preface -- Part 1: In Brazil, an unraveling and an off-ramp. A twisted ritual -- "Have a good journey" -- A lineage of unstable minds -- The Yawanawá : the tribe that sprang back from the brink of extinction -- Holy ayahuasca -- Part 2: The wild west of psychedelic retreats in Latin America. A tripping Buddhist -- A rape in the rainforest -- "Boot camp healing" : the ayahuasca queer retreat in Peru -- Chasing miracles in Costa Rica -- Part 3: In churches and clinics, Americans turn to psychedelics to heal. The ayahuasca churches -- The new psychedelic churches ministering to veterans -- Reminiscing on my wars -- A ketamine "field trip" -- "Wrecking ball" : MDMA as medicine at a VA hospital -- Epilogue: Contemplating a magic pill.

Summary

"When he signed up for a psychedelic retreat run by a mysterious Argentine woman deep in Brazil's rainforest in early 2018, Ernesto Londoño, a veteran New York Times journalist, was so depressed he had come close to jumping off his terrace weeks earlier. His nine-day visit to Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center included four nighttime ceremonies during which participants imbibed a vomit-inducing plant-based brew that contained DMT, a powerful mind-altering compound. The ayahuasca trips provided Londoño an instant reprieve from his depression and became the genesis of his personal transformation that anchors this sweeping journalistic exploration of the booming field of medicinal psychedelics. Londoño introduces readers to a dazzling array of psychedelic enthusiasts who are upending our understanding of trauma and healing. They include Indigenous elders who regard psychedelics as portals to the spirit world; religious leaders who use mind-bending substances as sacraments; war veterans suffering from PTSD who credit psychedelics with changing their lives; and clinicians trying to resurrect a promising field of medicine hastily abandoned in the 1970s as the United States declared a War on Drugs. Londoño's riveting personal narrative pulls the reader through a deeply researched and brilliantly reported account of a game-changing industry on the rise. Trippy is the definitive book of psychedelics and mental health today and Londoño's in-depth and nuanced look at this shifting landscape will be pivotal in guiding policymakers and readers as they make sense of the perils, limitations and promise of turning to psychedelics in the pursuit of healing"--

Subject(s)

ISBN

9781250878540 hardcover
1250878543 hardcover
9781250878557 electronic book

Bibliography Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-294) and index.

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