Introducing the Author
Robert Adams accidentally emigrated from the United States when, pursuing a career opportunity in London, he met his future wife almost immediately. Half a lifetime later, as retirement hit him like the psychological equivalent of a diver resurfacing too quickly, he attended a Dutch psychedelic retreat. Encouraged to journal, he began writing about the experience and other unusual daily encounters, reframing each positively and humorously.
Notes from My Psychedelic Years is his first book. To protect privacy, he has altered the identities of eight locations, four organisations, three occupations, one film, and the names of more than one hundred people, including himself, in these stories. Everything else is completely factual.
Q & A:
Why did you choose to write this book?
I didn't. It just seemed to happen. Encouraged to journal as part of my first psychedelic retreat, I discovered afterwards that by re-reading my own notes, I was able to keep the experience fresh in my mind and embed lessons I had learned during the integration process. Struck on occasion by how day-to-day occurrences could be as strange as those in psychedelic journeys, I began capturing them, too, in writing. Over time, I saw a progression in my writing towards acceptance, healing, and gratitude, and I began to wonder if there was a story to tell. That's why it took seven years from start to finish; I didn't realise I was writing a book for at least four of those years.
How did you arrive at the format of the book?
I wanted to tell a story in the form of first-last-middle-aftermath, but also make it more interesting by adding asynchronous events where they fit, either to provide context or sometimes just for comic relief. I used my three psychedelic retreats to anchor a book written in four sections. In each of the first three sections, a chronological story is told about one of the retreats. First, there's the initial experience and why it isn't quite enough. Then, there's the last experience and the narrator's realisation that he no longer needs the medicine. After that, there's the long section about the middle and most significant of the retreats, which reveals more than the other ones do. The fourth and final section of the book comprises stories that reflect the character's growth afterwards.
Who are your writing influences and how would you characterise your own style?
I can't cite any one author. Also, I'm not sure I've seen anyone write quite like this before. More seriously, though, during the process I noticed a style developing in my writing and I chose to lean into it. We have a first-person, semi-omniscient narrator, writing in the present tense, for immediacy, even when the events are in the past. He is occasionally aware of what is going to happen next, though he sometimes states that he cannot do anything about this because he is, after all, living in the present tense. Comedy is created by extensive use of asides that show us a narrator who recognises the absurdity in certain situations, but takes pains to pretend that all is normal. He is the quintessential willing outsider.
The book references some serious issues including identity, depression, aging parents, death, and personal isolation, but never lingers long on them. Why?
I suppose I felt that even though these issues are universal, they are also quite personal. So, rather than over-reveal, maybe it would be better if I could, to some extent, let it be the reader's own story. Also, I wanted to keep it light, to entertain the reader and myself. As for not lingering on serious issues, I think that sometimes the best way to inform is to do it without the reader even noticing it's happening.
Many who have undertaken a therapeutic, high-dose psychedelic journey have described it as the single most significant experience of their lives. Where do you stand on this?
I'm going to place it fourth. In first place is a Wednesday evening in August 1992 at the Campden Hill Lawn Tennis Club. I never intended to stay in England beyond my initial two-year work permit. Meeting my future wife that night changed everything. She was, and is, exactly what I needed, and my life has been so much fuller as a result. In second place is a phone call I received in December 1976. It began with "Congratulations," to which I responded, "What did I do?" My acceptance to Yale University, which took a shy teenager out of a small town and placed him in a learning environment of boundless possibilities, gave me the courage to dream and the willingness to endlessly experiment and take chances in my life. In third place is the whole period from 1996 to 2000 when I overcame my paralysing fear of public speaking and repeatedly challenged myself to become someone I could be proud of. Finally, in fourth place, there would be the psychedelic journeys, particularly the ones in November 2018. I haven't really experienced depression since. Or, at least, not for long.
What would you tell people about psychedelics and mental health?
I can really only speak about psilocybin – that is, magic mushrooms or magic truffles – though my understanding is that the other classic psychedelics work quite similarly. Psilocybin has now been studied extensively, producing positive results in the treatment of depression, addiction, OCD, and various anxiety-related conditions. I personally have witnessed this. Still, there are caveats. For one, it is illegal in most jurisdictions. Also, the therapeutic high-dose experience – which is marked by wearing eyeshades, listening to a curated playlist, and facilitated by experienced sitters in a safe environment – is not recreational. The dose can be much greater, the experience is primarily an inward one – which can be beautiful, terrifying, or both – and the nature of the setting is conducive to more profound outcomes. Finally, since psilocybin produces short-term cognitive entropy, it may be dangerous for those who have a family history of psychosis, and this is one of the reasons why retreat organisations work hard in pre-screening participants. On the whole, though, I believe that psychedelic experience, in a safe setting, can be profoundly positive for our cognitive health.
Read more
Read less
