Sara Clarke answers “Would anyone care to share a comment on...”

Eric asked this question about How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics:

Would anyone care to share a comment on whether Pollan has gone off the deep end wit this one? I really enjoyed "The Omnivore's Dilemma," but this sounds from the dust jacket/publisher blurb to the reader being treated to an experience of the author's high without doing the drug.

Sara Clarke There is a section of the book that is about three "trips" Pollan takes with a guide in the traditional "set and setting" clinical/spiritual approach …moreThere is a section of the book that is about three "trips" Pollan takes with a guide in the traditional "set and setting" clinical/spiritual approach of the early psychiatric research into psychedelics. (I clarify that because, rest assured, this is NOT either an "I dropped acid at Woodstock, it was groovy, man" type of account, or an "in the interest of seeing for myself I ate a magic mushroom, here's a stream of consciousness from that".)

He gets pretty scientific with it, and he undergoes psychedelic experiences that the casual basement pothead probably doesn't have access to. (Which, as a basement pothead, was my first concern when I found out Pollan's personal account would be part of the book. We've all taken mushrooms with pen and paper handy, DAD...) Also, you know, Michael Pollan is a professional writer. He manages to give these experiences narrative shape and uses artful language to make the ineffable aspects of his journey both understandable and also interesting to read about.

Bottom line, if you aren't interested in hearing about the author's personal experience with his subject matter, it's easy to skip those chapters, and you wouldn't lose anything. However, they're also much more interesting and more readable than I would have guessed.(less)

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