Rachel Nuwer

I Feel Love (eBook, ePUB)

MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Longlisted for the PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

"Riveting."--Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score

The unlikely story of how the psychedelic drug MDMA emerged from the shadows to the forefront of a medical revolution--and the potential it may hold to help us thrive.

Few drugs in history have generated as much controversy as MDMA--or held as much promise. Once vilified as a Schedule I substance that would supposedly eat holes in users' brains, MDMA (also known as Molly or Ecstasy) is now being hailed as a therapeutic agent that could transform the field of mental health and outpace psilocybin and ketamine as the first psychedelic approved for widespread clinical use. In I Feel Love, science journalist Rachel Nuwer separates fact from fantasy, hope from hype, in the drug's contested history and still-evolving future. Evidence from scientific trials suggests MDMA, properly administered, can be startlingly effective at relieving the effects of trauma. Results from other studies point to its usefulness for individual and couples therapy; for treating depression, alcohol addiction, and eating disorders; and for cultivating personal growth. Yet scientists are still racing to discover how MDMA achieves these outcomes, a mystery that is taking them into the inner recesses of the brain and the deep history of evolution. With its power to dismantle psychological defenses and induce feelings of empathy, self-compassion, and love, MDMA may answer profound questions about how we became human, and how to heal our broken social bonds.

From cutting-edge labs to pulsing club floors to the intimacy of the therapist's couch, Nuwer guides readers through a cultural and scientific upheaval that is rewriting our understanding of our brains, our selves, and the space between.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
• Seitenzahl: 384
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Juni 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781635579581
• Artikelnr.: 67690940

Autorenporträt

Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning science journalist who regularly contributes to the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and many other publications. Her reporting for the New York Times broke the news globally about the MDMA Phase III clinical trial and was highlighted by Michael Pollan, Ezra Klein, and Tim Ferriss, among other thought leaders. In 2022, Nuwer was among the inaugural recipients of the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship. She holds master's degrees in applied ecology and in science journalism. Her first book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, took her to a dozen countries to investigate the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade. She lives in Brooklyn.

Rezensionen

Covers the often-ignored history of MDMA with breathtaking depth . . . Nuwer's sober assessment of MDMA's promise and limitations, written in incisive but generous prose, steers away from the quackery and sentimentality that pervade the field of psychedelic research. Relentless and erudite in her journalistic commitments, unafraid of self-disclosure and unwilling to feign complete detachment, Nuwer searches for healing, and makes painfully obvious the terrifying uselessness and destructive consequences of the past half-century's drug policies.