october 2020 – good to read

Will Self
Unflinching, intoxicating, heartfelt, and propelled by an exceptional energy, Will is the long-awaited memoir by Will Self, whose works have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and translated into over twenty languages. A portrait of the artist as a young addict, Will is one of the most eloquent and unusual depictions of the allure of hard drugs ever written. Will spins the reader from Self’s childhood in a quiet North London suburb to his mind-expanding education at Oxford, to a Burroughsian trip to Morocco, an outback vision in Australia, and, finally, a surreal turn in rehab. Echoing the great Modernist writers of the early twentieth century in its psychedelic stream of consciousness, Will is vividly imagistic and mordantly witty and tells a tale of excess and degradation.
Penguin, January 2020

Hadley Freeman
Hadley Freeman knew her grandmother Sara lived in France just as Hitler started to gain power, but rarely did anyone in her family talk about it. Long after her grandmother’s death, she found a shoe box tucked in the closet containing photographs of her grandmother with a mysterious stranger, a cryptic telegram from the Red Cross and a drawing signed by Picasso. This discovery sent Freeman on a decade-long quest to uncover the significance of these keepsakes and piece together the puzzle of her family’s past, discovering more about the lives of her grandmother and her three brothers. This thrilling family saga is filled with extraordinary twists, vivid characters and famous cameos, illuminating the Jewish and immigrant experience in the World War II era.
Simon & Schuster, May 2020

Bett Williams
When word gets out about her mushroom farm, Bett’s solitary ceremonies by the fire over. Not long after the police read her her Miranda Rights. On a quest to find help through the psychedelic community, Bett is led to meet an African American leader within a high-dose psilocybin community, and to Huautla de Jiménez, where the legendary curandera María Sabina spent her life. Back home, Bett begins a solid ritual practice with the help of her partner and friends, bearing in mind the medicine’s indigenous roots and power to transform one’s life. By turns hilarious and moving, The Wild Kindness: A Psilocybin Odyssey is the tale of one woman’s hypnotic, psilocybin-fueled journey toward understanding the world around her and, in turn, herself.
Dottir Press, September 2020

Joseph Henri
We in the west are largely WEIRD: highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical whereas other and older societies concentrate on their relationships with others. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? Henri draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. The most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church – laying the foundation for the modern world.
Straus and Giroux, September 2020

Franjo Grotenthermen, M.D.
This book explores the use of a range of cannabis products in terms of treatment of a wide range of physical and emotional conditions. Dr. Grothenthermen first explains the history of marijuana as medicine, including its important role in medical practice during the 19th century. He explains the biochemistry of cannabinoids and shows how they interact with the human body, including a look at cannabinoids and how they occur naturally in the body. The author then draws on his experience legally treating patients in Germany as well as numerous research studies and tests to provide an in-depth guide to the many healing applications for cannabis and its derivatives. Written by a practicing physician, this guide provides all you need to know to use cannabinoids safely and effectively for health and healing.
Inner Traditions, October 2020