MICRODOSING: A Psychedelic Approach to Mood Disorders

When a small vial arrives in her mailbox from “Lewis Carroll,” Ayelet Waldman is at a low point. Her mood storms have become intolerably severe; she has tried nearly every medication possible; her husband and children are suffering with her. So she opens the vial, places two drops on her tongue, and joins the ranks of an underground but increasingly vocal group of scientists and civilians successfully using therapeutic microdoses of LSD. As Waldman charts her experience over the course of a monthâ€"bursts of productivity, sleepless nights, a newfound sense of equanimityâ€"she also explores the history and mythology of LSD, the cutting-edge research into the drug, and the byzantine policies that control it. Drawing on her experience as a federal public defender and the mother of teenagers, as well as her research into the therapeutic value of psychedelics, Waldman has produced a book that is as entertaining as it is eye-opening.