Midnight Water

A Psychedelic Memoir

By: Katherine MacLean PhD

Narrated by: Katherine MacLean PhD

Midnight Water: A Psychedelic Memoir by Katherine MacLean, Ph.D. is a story of grief and redemption by a groundbreaking scientist who led the way in psychedelic research. In Dr. MacLean's first year on the faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, her path takes an unexpected detour following the death of her younger sister from cancer. After leaving her faculty job, MacLean travels the world— bringing medical and humanitarian aid to remote Himalayan villages and creating sanctuary spaces for psychedelic support— until she settles on an organic farm.

While birthing and raising her two children, leading workshops, psychedelic retreats, and training to become an MDMA therapist, MacLean’ s traumatic past and the loss of her sister continue to haunt her. When her father is dying, MacLean realizes that she must dive straight into the heart of her own labyrinth in order to forgive him. Midnight Water is not only a personal story of psychedelic healing but an inspired vision for a psychedelic future that positions women and family caregivers at the center of home-based healing, from birth through death.

©2023 Katherine MacLean PhD (P)2023 Katherine MacLean PhD

A Journey of the self, rebirth & profound insights

a masterpiece that transcends the written word, offering an experience that is as beautifully spoken as it is written. The author’s voice—both literal and figurative—shines with a rare combination of honesty, vulnerability, and profound wisdom that leaves an indelible mark on the reader. Her reflections on the impermanence of life and the unexpected moments of beauty that arise from sorrow are deeply moving. These lessons feel like a personal gift to the reader. This is a must-read—and even more so, a must-hear!

Self-Absorbed, Disjointed

This book turned out to be a slog. I committed to listening all the way to the end, sure that there would be a moment when all of the scattered pieces would come together, creating some kind of meaningful whole, but it never came. Maybe my expectations were too high, having just read The Tell by Amy Griffin, but this book was so fragmented in comparison; so scattered, non-linear, and ultimately emotionally flat. The listeners are left alone to somehow piece together our own meaning from a deluge of monotonous hum-drum details about the author’s daily life, career, upbringing, and everything in between, which is in stark contrast to her dry and bare-bones “just trust me, it was life changing” recollections of her psychedelic experiences. Ultimately this memoir feels more like the self-congratulatory ramblings of a very confused person trying to convince herself that she hasn’t lost the plot than it does a cohesive narrative of one person’s journey through a series of losses and emotional growth. I get the sense that what the author really wants from the audience is to be her sounding board, her therapist’s chair, a source of validation. But she hasn’t really given us anything substantive to chew on, only an alternating mix of monotony and chaos. I don’t doubt that the author’s experiences were transformative and important to her, but the pieces in this book are framed in a way that makes it difficult to follow, and feel, along with her.