Welcome to Litsy!

Suffering from a mood disorder (PMDD) and exhausting her options, writer Ayelet Waldman tries microdosing. A Really Good Day is part comedic mental health memoir, part account of her 30-day experiment taking tiny, subperceptual amounts of LSD, and part research into the history, risks & rewards, and future of psychedelics. Waldman is funny, candid, and self-aware. This is a frank and accessible introduction to the idea of psychedelics as medicine.

After Michael Pollan‘s book How To Change Your Mind got me interested in the topic I‘ve been reading more books about the emerging field of psychedelics as medicine. I found Waldman‘s blend of memoir and journalism to be especially readable. Her personal storytelling is highly relatable for anyone prone to anxiety, & her reporting on the sad futility of the drug war is especially compelling. She reads the audiobook herself & is a great narrator.

This is deep insight into one woman‘s life. She‘s lives with a few mental health diagnoses, struggles with chronic pain and nothing helps. In desperation, she tries tiny doses of LSD for 30 days. The writing is engaging. But I struggled with the evident and overwhelming privilege. If not for her place on the socio-economic spectrum, she‘d be in jail.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2022 #booked2021 #jewishauthororMC

Waldman had a reliable strategy for dealing with her hormonal mood changes until peri-menopause. After doing some research, she hit upon microdosing LSD. She kept to a strict schedule and amount. 20 mcg every third day. As you follow her journey, she discusses the history of psychedelics, the state of current research, and harm reduction strategies for both legal and illegal substances. A fascinating journey! #audiobook

Enjoying this #audiobook and some over easy eggs (burned the butter a bit 😉) before bed. I feel much less stressed tonight because I‘m hoping to get the next four days off from major issues. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 excited to enjoy #jolabokaflod when I get up. Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate! 🎄

Shark phobias, misophonia, and husbands who stay with you when the walls breathe. These are a few of my favorite things.

#itwasagoodday today as I got to see an old friend while she's back in the US (she's working in China). We had a yummy dinner with a great dessert. Then I came home to find out the husband ran into some issues with installing the door so hope that's fixed or I won't sleep tonight 😖

#90sinjuly
@Cinfhen
@Robothugs

#90sInJuly #day19 #ItWasAGoodDay It was a great day indeed,the day I learnt about a new social media platform for book lovers.The day I joined & posted my first ever blurb was the start of an amazing 13 months so far,getting new book recs,suggesting books to other Littens,showing off bookmail,enabling & living vicariously through others awesome collections.The PBCs,the gift exchanges & making so many new friends all over the world is amazing.

Audible Daily Deal

I took a much needed #MentalHealthDay yesterday and stumbled upon a new library that just opened last year! It made me so happy that their bathrooms were all gender. #mysapl #library #sizzlinsummerbooks

For years, I have been fascinated by Ayelet Waldman, at first because she was married to Michael Chabon, but later because she expressed herself in a brash, unapologetic way. Her Twitter rants were outrageous and amusing. In this book, she continues in the same vein: training her hyper intellect on a specific project while sharing more personal details than my close friends. I was swayed by her position on decriminalizing drugs, fascinated by ⬇️

Nope. Realized I had no interest almost immediately. One of my biggest misgivings was that her grand experiment and exploration of microdosing with LSD turned out to only be 10 doses.

#AprilBookShowers first line of current read @RealLifeReading

It certainly is an intriguing first line! Starting my day with counseling and then coffee at Panera.

I'm in another #nonfiction phase. A Really Good Day by Ayelet Waldman (fun fact: her husband is Michael Chabon) is the story of her experiment taking LSD in quantities small enough not to create hallucinations but large enough to improve mood, work flow, etc. She's a former lawyer with drug law reform work experience, so she cites a ton of research, but it's at least equally as much a relatable, often funny, memoir.

Late afternoon wine, C&Cs, and books. 😌

I love Ayelet Waldman and think she's often at her best when she's writing nonfiction because she's so unapologetically honest. This book was no exception. She offers an intimate glimpse into her life and struggle with mental illness, while also providing an interesting examination of recreational drugs. The book that's part memoir and part a well-researched challenge to the war on drugs. A really interesting book!

4.5🌟This had been on my radar since it popped up in an #audible email, and it's a fantastic book. Waldman takes a 1/5 dose of LSD every third day for a month and records how it affects her moods and relationships. She kills on things like harm reduction with drugs. She provides interesting research insights as well. A great book to listen to if you're interested in alternative approaches to mental illness. She does a fantastic job narrating!!

Oh the irony of listening to a book called A Really Good Day when you're on the floor of your bathroom in front of the toilet. On a positive note, this short, interesting book may get me out of my reading slump. Sorry guys...it's been a rough month. 💖💖💖💖💖 all of you!!

Edited to add: this is a book about microdosing LSD to treat mental illness, which is a cool topic!

Wow, this was super fascinating!! A very revealing, heartfelt, and funny personal story, but at least as compelling was her discussion of various illegal drugs and their histories of/potential for therapeutic use (I had no idea!). I also loved her keen awareness (based on her experiences as an attorney) of the complicated and often tragic consequences of the "war on drugs." A quick and very worthwhile read.

Littens! This is SO interesting. I am devouring it!

Listen to the author's interview on the podcast Lit Up (THE BEST book podcast for author interviews!) and then listen to her book. Ayelet Waldman struggled with mental illness for years before discovering microdosing. This book is about her month of microdosing LSD and her observations. She is insightful, grounded, funny, and offers fascinating commentary on the war on drugs & privilege.

This was a really fascinating book. Waldman takes microdoses of LSD for a month, about 10% of a regular dose, to see if it will help with her mood disorder. It's part memoir and part investigation into the war on drugs. You also get an unexpectedly candid glimpse into the dynamic of her marriage (to Michael Chabon). #LitsyAtoZ (author) #audiobook

2nd book finished! Interesting book about drug use and drug culture. I definitely learned some things I didn't know. #24in48

It's always fun when you find a connection between two people. I'm reading Ayelet Waldman's book and wondered who she is married too. Well who would have thought, it's Michael Chabon. Interesting. #24in48

One of the benefits of being an absolute cover-to-cover reader is that you don't miss gems like this author's note. #allthepages