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 never actually intended to write a book. Encouraged to journal as part of preparatory work for the psychedelic retreats, I discovered afterwards that the record of what I experienced helped me to keep it fresh in my mind, and that re-reading my own notes helped embed lessons learned during the integration process. Struck on occasion by how day-to-day occurrences could be as strange as those in the psychedelic experiences, I began capturing them, too, in writing, and wondering how to mix them with the retreat journals.
How did you arrive at the format of the book?
With the benefit of hindsight, 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 realisation that the narrator no longer needs the medicine. After that, there's the long section about the middle and most significant of the retreats, revealing 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. And, 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 all is normal. He is the quintessential willing outsider, happy to suspend disbelief for the sake of results.
The book references some serious issues (identity, depression, aging parents, death, personal isolation, etc.), but never lingers long on them. Why?
These issues are universal, but also quite personal, so best not to over-specify them. Also, let's have some fun here! Above all, I wanted the book to entertain people, including myself. I've got to believe that 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 a date in June 1996 when I confronted my paralysing fear of public speaking, as well as the whole period from 1996 to 2000 when I repeatedly challenged myself to become someone I could be proud of. Finally, in fourth place, there would be psychedelic journeys, particularly one in November 2018. I haven't really experienced depression since. Or, more accurately, not a depression that I couldn't work my way out of.
What is your view about psychedelics and mental health?
I can really only speak about psilocybin – that is, magic mushrooms or magic truffles – though my understanding is that other "classic" psychedelics have similar profiles. 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 fundamentally different from typical recreational uses. The dose can be much, much higher; the experience is primary 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.
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