A Really Good Day

Well, that was awkward.

I get it: to write about deeply personal issues, you have to TMI. Waldman does—and how!—what made me cringe is that she also TMIs about her relationships with her parents, husband, children. Did they sign up for this public airing? I feel uncomfortable for them all. I'm also uncomfortable with her depiction of microdosing: Waldman's experience was well into the positive range, possibly because she went into the experiment with intention; this may cause high expectations, and possibly disappointment, in some readers.

Even so, and even though there was little material new to me, I enjoyed it. Waldman's candidness won me over. Her frank contempt for the U.S.'s moronic War On Some Drugs, her (much abbreviated) history of the rise and fall of psychedelic research, even, yes, her copious neuroses too, all were thoughtfully written. And, finally, unpleasant as she comes off, I recognize myself in her. I've been mean and spiteful. I've despised myself. I've sought and, to a surprising degree, found new direction from psychedelics, both micro and megadose. I just don't have her talent or courage.

I think I'm going to ponder this book for a while. Recommended, even if you're already aware of the goings-on in this area.