The author\u2019s recounting of his \u201cpsychospiritual growth\u201d follows his story from boyhood to medical school and beyond, detailing his slow introduction to the world of altered consciousness. He recalls the desire to reinforce his \u201cmasculine qua masculine credentials\u201d among his peers, his first rum-and-Coke (\u201cI gulp down the rest of the drink,\u201d he writes. \u201cIt tastes better than beer, that\u2019s for sure. I drink two more\u201d), and his increasingly serious experiences with heavier drugs. Strassman breaks down these experiences into considerations of one\u2019s \u201cset\u201d (\u201cour mental set includes long-standing personality, habits, and coping style\u201d), \u201csetting\u201d (\u201ceverything else, the \u2018not-you\u2019 part of the experience, the outside world\u201d), and \u201ccause,\u201d the actual mechanism of the experience, whether drugs or more mundane practices like breath control. In a series of illustrated chapters, the author takes readers inside the world of psychedelic drug experimentation, addressing both the ecstatic aspects and the grubby, frightening sides (the book opens with a scene of Strassman fighting his way through a rough drug experience: \u201cPanic stirs as I begin sinking into the bed. I jerk upright before I descend much further\u201d). Strassman writes with an engaging directness\u2014his prose deftly toggles between sarcastic observations and sincere confessions, bringing heartfelt intensity to his observations on love, heartbreak, therapy, and particularly the wild experiences he\u2019s had under the influence of various psychedelic drugs. His descriptions are remarkably vivid: \u201cI inhale deeply and my entire body expands just beyond its normal boundaries, feeling nearly weightless,\u201d he writes. \u201cThe sweet dampness pours across my lips, past my teeth, over my tongue.\u201d Readers who give the entire spectrum of psychedelic drugs a wide berth probably won\u2019t find themselves tempted to indulge Strassman\u2019s chronicle, but every reader will find this account fascinating.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The author\u2019s recounting of his \u201cpsychospiritual growth\u201d follows his story from boyhood to medical school and beyond, detailing his slow introduction to the world of altered consciousness. He recalls the desire to reinforce his \u201cmasculine qua masculine credentials\u201d among his peers, his first rum-and-Coke (\u201cI gulp down the rest of the drink,\u201d he writes. \u201cIt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}