AUDIOBOOK
The Acid Queen
The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary
Susannah Cahalan(0)
About
The untold story of the woman who played a critical role in bringing psychedelics into the mainstream-until her audacious exploits forced her into the shadows-from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire
Rosemary Woodruff Leary has been known only as the wife of Timothy Leary, the Harvard professor-turned-psychedelic high priest, whose jailbreak captivated the counterculture and whose life on the run with Rosemary inflamed the government. But Rosemary was more than a mere accessory. She was a beatnik, a psychonaut, and a true believer who tested the limits of her mind and the expectations for women of her time.
Long overlooked by those who have venerated her husband, Rosemary spent her life on the forefront of the counterculture, working with Leary on his books and speeches, sewing his clothing, and shaping-for better and for worse-the media's narrative about LSD. Ultimately, Rosemary sacrificed everything for the safety of her fellow psychedelic pioneers and the preservation of her husband's legacy.
Drawing from a wealth of interviews, diaries, archives, and unpublished sources, Susannah Cahalan writes the definitive portrait of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, reclaiming her narrative and her voice from those who dismissed her. Page-turning, revelatory, and utterly compelling, The Acid Queen shines an overdue spotlight on a pioneering psychedelic seeker. Praise for Brain on Fire
"Captivating … Cahalan's prose carries a sharp, unsparing tabloid punch in the tradition of Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin." ― New York Times Book Review
"A fascinating look at the disease that – if not for a nick-of-time diagnosis – could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life." ― People
"The bizarre and confounding illness that beset the 24-year-old New York Post reporter in early 2009 so ravaged her mentally and physically that she became unrecognizable to coworkers, family, friends, and-most devastatingly-herself… She dedicates this miracle of a book to 'those without a diagnosis'… [An] unforgettable memoir." ― Elle
"Swift and haunting." ― Scientific American
"The best reporters never stop asking questions, and Cahalan is no exception. ... The result is a kind of anti-memoir, an out-of-body personal account of a young woman's fight to survive one of the cruelest diseases imaginable. And on every level, it's remarkable. ... Cahalan is nothing if not tenacious, and she perfectly tempers her brutal honesty with compassion and something like vulnerability. It's indisputable that Cahalan is a gifted reporter, and Brain on Fire is a stunningly brave book. But even more than that, she's a naturally talented prose stylist - whip-smart but always unpretentious - and it's nearly impossible to stop reading her, even in the book's most painful passages. ... Brain on Fire comes from a place of intense pain and unthinkable isolation, but finds redemption in Cahalan's unflagging, defiant toughness. It's an unexpected gift of a book from one of America's most courageous young journalists." ― NPR
"What is most impressive about Brain on Fire is that Cahalan has little recollection of her month of insanity…. Thanks partially to her talent as a journalist and to the fact that her parents kept journals, Cahalan was able to recapture her month, leaving no holes in the narrative." ― Daily Texan
"An intense, mesmerizing account of survival. . . Cahalan's deft descriptions of her spooky hallucinations could be right out of a Poe terror tale." ― BookForum
Praise for The Great Pretender
Named One of the Top 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 by Time
"This is a well-crafted, gripping narrative that succeeds on many levels. Cahalan, who gained the trust of Rosenhan's family, is meticulous and sensitive in her research; compelling and insightful in her writing." ― Financial Times
"[A]n impressive feat of investigative journalism--tenaciously
Rosemary Woodruff Leary has been known only as the wife of Timothy Leary, the Harvard professor-turned-psychedelic high priest, whose jailbreak captivated the counterculture and whose life on the run with Rosemary inflamed the government. But Rosemary was more than a mere accessory. She was a beatnik, a psychonaut, and a true believer who tested the limits of her mind and the expectations for women of her time.
Long overlooked by those who have venerated her husband, Rosemary spent her life on the forefront of the counterculture, working with Leary on his books and speeches, sewing his clothing, and shaping-for better and for worse-the media's narrative about LSD. Ultimately, Rosemary sacrificed everything for the safety of her fellow psychedelic pioneers and the preservation of her husband's legacy.
Drawing from a wealth of interviews, diaries, archives, and unpublished sources, Susannah Cahalan writes the definitive portrait of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, reclaiming her narrative and her voice from those who dismissed her. Page-turning, revelatory, and utterly compelling, The Acid Queen shines an overdue spotlight on a pioneering psychedelic seeker. Praise for Brain on Fire
"Captivating … Cahalan's prose carries a sharp, unsparing tabloid punch in the tradition of Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin." ― New York Times Book Review
"A fascinating look at the disease that – if not for a nick-of-time diagnosis – could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life." ― People
"The bizarre and confounding illness that beset the 24-year-old New York Post reporter in early 2009 so ravaged her mentally and physically that she became unrecognizable to coworkers, family, friends, and-most devastatingly-herself… She dedicates this miracle of a book to 'those without a diagnosis'… [An] unforgettable memoir." ― Elle
"Swift and haunting." ― Scientific American
"The best reporters never stop asking questions, and Cahalan is no exception. ... The result is a kind of anti-memoir, an out-of-body personal account of a young woman's fight to survive one of the cruelest diseases imaginable. And on every level, it's remarkable. ... Cahalan is nothing if not tenacious, and she perfectly tempers her brutal honesty with compassion and something like vulnerability. It's indisputable that Cahalan is a gifted reporter, and Brain on Fire is a stunningly brave book. But even more than that, she's a naturally talented prose stylist - whip-smart but always unpretentious - and it's nearly impossible to stop reading her, even in the book's most painful passages. ... Brain on Fire comes from a place of intense pain and unthinkable isolation, but finds redemption in Cahalan's unflagging, defiant toughness. It's an unexpected gift of a book from one of America's most courageous young journalists." ― NPR
"What is most impressive about Brain on Fire is that Cahalan has little recollection of her month of insanity…. Thanks partially to her talent as a journalist and to the fact that her parents kept journals, Cahalan was able to recapture her month, leaving no holes in the narrative." ― Daily Texan
"An intense, mesmerizing account of survival. . . Cahalan's deft descriptions of her spooky hallucinations could be right out of a Poe terror tale." ― BookForum
Praise for The Great Pretender
Named One of the Top 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 by Time
"This is a well-crafted, gripping narrative that succeeds on many levels. Cahalan, who gained the trust of Rosenhan's family, is meticulous and sensitive in her research; compelling and insightful in her writing." ― Financial Times
"[A]n impressive feat of investigative journalism--tenaciously