How to Change Your Mind

Rating: 8.3/10

Really liked this one. I've always been interested in the psychedelic experience and the deeper meaning behind altered brain states and this book singlehandedly addressed all of my curiosities about the topic. Although we're starting to hear a bit more about it in mainstream culture, I had no idea that the resurgence of psychedelic research has been going on for several years now. Pollan does a great job of breaking the book into multiple sections: the past, present, and future of LSD research, his own experience and psychedelic journey, and the neuroscience behind this unbelievable hallucinogen. It got a bit boring in parts and it didn't help that I spread this book out over several months. He definitely did his due diligence when it comes to research and unfortunately, this makes the book a bit dry, especially when he takes the time to name almost every researcher or scientist involved in a particular narrative.

Despite these shortcomings, Michael Pollan has made me eager for further developments in the field of psychedelics and presented stunningly positive impacts of this often-maligned substance.