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Table of Contents
About the Book
For fans of Aldous Huxley and Timothy Leary, a woman’s personal journey unfolds in a historically documented and scientifically elucidated memoir of lifelong struggle to overcome CPTSD with the help of psychedelics.
For those exploring psychedelics as treatment for trauma and CPTSD, Erica Rex’s memoir provides readers with a narrative guide to healing. Through exhaustive scientific research and elucidation of the history of psychedelics as medicine, she provides readers a road map for their own recovery journey.
Rex’s story unfolds in 2009, when she finds herself spiraling into depression following a breast cancer diagnosis. Her participation in a groundbreaking clinical trial at Johns Hopkins University in 2012, where she is given two doses of psilocybin, reopens the emotional door to her childhood trauma: the violent abuse she suffers at the hands of her psychiatrist parents. Her ongoing struggle with anxiety in the years that follow inspires her to try more alternative modalities, including ayahuasca, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT.
Rex’s path intersects with the dark history of psychological experimentation, including the work of Harvard’s Dr. Henry A. Murray, her mother’s mentor, whose controversial research led to the psychopathology of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
Seeing What Is There navigates the complexities of the psychedelic therapy movement, questioning its ethical pitfalls and profit-driven motives and demonstrating that healing requires more than just pharmaceuticals—it demands economic security, community, and social support. Nuanced and eye-opening, Rex’s account of her journey is a powerful meditation on trauma, survival, and the potential for transformation.
For those exploring psychedelics as treatment for trauma and CPTSD, Erica Rex’s memoir provides readers with a narrative guide to healing. Through exhaustive scientific research and elucidation of the history of psychedelics as medicine, she provides readers a road map for their own recovery journey.
Rex’s story unfolds in 2009, when she finds herself spiraling into depression following a breast cancer diagnosis. Her participation in a groundbreaking clinical trial at Johns Hopkins University in 2012, where she is given two doses of psilocybin, reopens the emotional door to her childhood trauma: the violent abuse she suffers at the hands of her psychiatrist parents. Her ongoing struggle with anxiety in the years that follow inspires her to try more alternative modalities, including ayahuasca, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT.
Rex’s path intersects with the dark history of psychological experimentation, including the work of Harvard’s Dr. Henry A. Murray, her mother’s mentor, whose controversial research led to the psychopathology of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
Seeing What Is There navigates the complexities of the psychedelic therapy movement, questioning its ethical pitfalls and profit-driven motives and demonstrating that healing requires more than just pharmaceuticals—it demands economic security, community, and social support. Nuanced and eye-opening, Rex’s account of her journey is a powerful meditation on trauma, survival, and the potential for transformation.
Product Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press (January 13, 2026)
- Length: 288 pages
- ISBN13: 9798896360360
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Raves and Reviews
“This is a remarkable and riveting book. It interweaves a powerful personal narrative of trauma with insights into psychedelic and MDMA therapy across four countries and six decades. Erica’s description of the damage done by heedless and self-serving psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, including her own parents, is a challenging and disturbing read, and a damning admonishment of entrenched patterns of practice within these professions. A vital read for all involved in the prevention and treatment of complex PTSD, and those interested in optimizing the potential of psychedelics and MDMA as therapy for them.”—David Nutt, DM, FRCP, FRCPsych, FMedSci, DLaw, Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College, and Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Drug Science
“This important memoir critiques psychiatry and the psychedelic movement, exploring trauma, healing, and the ethical challenges of contemporary psychiatry. Through her journey with psilocybin, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT, Erica Rex reveals the promise of transformation while advocating for a future where true healing includes social support, equity, and community. Students of psychedelics and psychiatry would do well to read this book.”—Joe Moore, cofounder and CEO of Psychedelics Today
“A mesmerizing combination of personal confession and deep scientific insights. Rex turns many expectations upside down and it is almost impossible to resist her reasoning and the personal voice she brings to it. You cannot finish this book without coming out wiser, better informed, and convinced that she is telling truths that others prefer to hide. Brave, passionate, and beautiful, yet not an easy read. An important book, a whole schooling in itself. Read it; you will not be sorry.”—Jeffrey Masson, psychoanalyst and author of The Assault on Truth and Against Therapy
“An extraordinary, beautifully written account of one woman’s lifelong journey out of unimaginable childhood trauma. Erica Rex exposes the dark heart of modern psychiatry and shows how the promise of psychedelic therapy is being subverted by ego-driven practitioners and pharmaceutical capitalism. Hers is a singular and prophetic voice, summoning the healing power of community in a culture that has pathologized human suffering.”—Stephen Mills, author of Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood
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