Trippy : The Perils and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics

When he signed up for a psychedelic retreat deep in the Brazilian rainforest, veteran New York Times journalist Ernesto Londono was so depressed that he had come close to attempting suicide just weeks earlier.

To his astonishment, the nine-day ayahuasca experience provided Londono an instant reprieve from his depression and became the genesis of a personal transformation that anchors this sweeping exploration of the booming field of medicinal psychedelics.

Londono's deeply researched and brilliantly reported account introduces readers to a dazzling array of psychedelic enthusiasts who are upending our understanding of trauma and healing. From Indigenous elders who regard psychedelics as portals to the spirit world to religious leaders using mind-bending substances as sacraments, as well as war veterans who credit psychedelics with alleviating their PTSD, and clinicians trying to resurrect a promising field of medicine hastily abandoned in when the War on Drugs was announced in the 1970s.

Trippy is the definitive book of psychedelics and mental health today, an in-depth and nuanced look at this booming industry which makes sense of the perils, limitations and promise of turning to psychedelics in the pursuit of healing.