Trippy

The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics

By: Ernesto Londoño

Narrated by: Ernesto Londoño

This program is read by the author and is accompanied by original audio from their ayahuasca experiences. This deeply personal and immersive listen invites you to observe the profound impact of ayahuasca and its transformative effect upon the author's life.

A riveting look at the tremendous promise and inherent risks of the use of psychedelics in mental-health treatment through the lens of a New York Times reporter whose journalistic exploration of this emerging field began with a personal crisis.

When he signed up for a psychedelic retreat run by a mysterious Argentine woman deep in Brazil’s rainforest in early 2018, Ernesto Londoño, a veteran New York Times journalist, was so depressed he had come close to jumping off his terrace weeks earlier. His nine-day visit to Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center included four nighttime ceremonies during which participants imbibed a vomit-inducing plant-based brew that contained DMT, a powerful mind-altering compound.

The ayahuasca trips provided Londoño an instant reprieve from his depression and became the genesis of a personal transformation that anchors this sweeping journalistic exploration of the booming field of medicinal psychedelics. Londoño introduces listeners to a dazzling array of psychedelic enthusiasts who are upending our understanding of trauma and healing. They include Indigenous elders who regard psychedelics as portals to the spirit world; religious leaders who use mind-bending substances as sacraments; war veterans suffering from PTSD who credit psychedelics with changing their lives; and clinicians trying to resurrect a promising field of medicine hastily abandoned in the 1970s as the United States declared a War on Drugs.

Londoño’s riveting personal narrative pulls the listener through a deeply researched and brilliantly reported account of a game-changing industry on the rise. Trippy is the definitive audiobook on psychedelics and mental health today, and Londoño’s in-depth and nuanced look at this shifting landscape will be pivotal in guiding policymakers and listeners as they make sense of the perils, limitations, and promises of turning to psychedelics in the pursuit of healing.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2024 Ernesto Londoño (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A moving, tender and thoughtful exploration of a complicated subject. If you want to understand psychedelics better, this is a great place to start”—Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Stolen Focus and Lost Connections

"A compulsively readable romp through a burgeoning scene that has immense potential for both harm and healing."—Dan Harris, New York Times bestselling author of 10% Happier and host of the Ten Percent Happier podcast

"In Ernesto Londoño's courageous and revelatory book, a whole new continent sails into view: of the hidden corners of our minds, and of the mysterious substances that light them up. This journey inside the brain and around the world taught me more than any book I've read in a long time. It's an important book, one that will save people's lives."—Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work

A must-read for anyone interested in psychedelics and mental health.

Ernesto Londoño’s “Trippy” offers an engaging and deeply personal narrative, coupled with an insightful examination of the emerging role of psychedelics in mental health. The book navigates the complexities of this field with courage, addressing the positive and negative aspects alike, and ultimately underscores the therapeutic potential of confronting and accepting our inner turmoil. This read is essential for those curious about the intricate impact of psychedelics on individual well-being and societal change. A seminal work in the genre; highly recommended.

Fascinating!

It's hard to put this book down! Highly entertaining, moving and informative. It offers a nuanced, balanced view of the fascinating renaissance of psychedelics in mental health. With in-depth journalistic rigor readers can expect healthy doses of both hope and caution. You'll finish this book with an open mind and appreciation of the potential power of psychedelics as well as the risks of embarking into the highly unregulated wild west of medicinal plants. Highly recommend it!

Must listen

I greatly appreciate Ernesto’s voice. The skepticism and journalistic background provides captivating insights into the emerging world of psychedelics. Personally traveling in Latam, I’ve watched as new age cults and spiritualism are popping up everywhere. Cringy materialistic high vibes and capitalistic appropriation is trending and I was hesitant to like the book, but Ernesto addresses all of the problematic issues within these communities. I love his personal stories too, reserved towards the end of the book to avoid contamination, it provides more depth and understanding to a personal account. Brilliant and thoughtfully written, plus I love listening to the author read his own story.

Must be read

I so much enjoyed this book read by the author! Every chapter has so much to learn and enjoy! I have recommended it to friends and family and now we are sharing our thoughts and what we found more Intresting in every chapter/ Story! CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL BOOK TO THE AUTHOR

Interesting read (listen) tries to be more balamced

Well written, and very personal is interesting but comes about somewhat mixed and not focused on the conclusions.

Brilliantly written- personal and informative-brimming with hope!

I loved every moment I spent with this book. Authenticity and well-researched and translated data separate this book from most others on the subject. The second half was so compelling I couldn’t put it down.

Wondrous tome for delving into the depths of psychedelics' profound mysteries.

This extraordinary book, from the very beginning, captivated me with its magic. Ernesto, a brave writer of his human experiences, prompts reflections on the mind, an enigma as profound as psychedelics. The questions it poses invites collective evaluation, a glimpse into our understanding of the mind and the power of sacred plants and ancestral wisdom from America. Brilliant!

Really Good!

This is a good book on stories of psychedelics including the author’s. I love that he was both skeptical and open minded going and experiencing more than one ceremony/resort for psychedelics. Also love the opening of truths for things that can happen at some of those resorts to women. Found the veteran experiences to be interesting as well. This book also includes the battle of not only trauma, struggling in understanding one self, and struggles of being queer internally and externally. Overall it’s a good book and highly recommend read!

I’m opening my perception

I like the humanity and ancestry arcs of the memoirist’s narrative, the tone and the tempo of this audiobook

Powerful story

I make a living doing past life regressions. I’m also a hypnotherapist and I do cognitive behavior modification. I have so many gay clients who have so much self-hatred because of their belief systems. And families of origin. Getting my clients to see their lives from a different perspective can help them heal. Many of my clients use alternate ways to get there. Mushroom therapy, LSD, ketamine, and of course, the now very popular ayaswaska … which I can never spell! I read the cosmic serpent in the 90s, and have a friend who was doing these ceremonies in the Amazon with real life shamans. Her life changed completely. Unfortunately, in Los Angeles there are a lot of unscrupulous people doing these ceremonies. One of my clients was raped up in the Palisades with one of these guys,

I love this book and I will recommend it to all of my clients. Anyway, to get a person to enjoy what they’ve got and appreciate the life they have is very worthwhile. For me? I was lucky enough to take LSD when I was 18 because I had a friend who was working in the lab at UCLA when it was legal. It changed my perspective on everything! Once you see that you are one with all that is you can never go back. Let’s all keep going forward and opening to love. This book will make you cry! Especially at the end. Thank you for writing this! And as a fellow author, I know how hard it is to write a book!