Michael Pollan wanted to research LSD and psilocybin and how it could provide relief to people suffering from conditions that are difficult to treat such as depression, addiction, and anxiety. This didn’t intend to be his most personal book but, because of how these substances could improve the lives even of the people with mental health problems, Pollan began to explore the landscape of the mind from his own experience. A perfect blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind serves as a participatory journalism that gives a gripping account of the world of understanding the mind, the self, and our place in the world. Pollan’s “mental travelogue” not only looks into psychedelic drugs but also the puzzle of the human consciousness and how it could set us in suffering and in joy—while doing our best of find the meaning in our lives.
