Acknowledgments

This was a challenging book to write on many levels, and I want to express my deepest thanks to a circle of friends who helped me give birth to it. Each brought a unique sensitivity to the early manuscript, and their many suggestions greatly improved the narrative. At a deeper level, their love and support sustained my hope that this story might be useful to others. My heartfelt thanks to Manuel Aicher, Anne Baring, Jessica and Travis DiRuzza, Duane and Coleen Elgin, Roger and Brenda Gibson, Bob Lyman and Kaia Svien, Amey Park, Janis Phelps, Richard Welker, and Tom Zinzer. I also want to thank Jorge Ferrer, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Tarnas for their very helpful feedback on the manuscript. A special thanks to Bill Roepke, with whom I spent many days going through these chapters and discussing the experiences they contain. I also want to thank the editorial staff at Inner Traditions for their tremendous support and help making this a better book.

I owe Stanislav Grof more than I can express. Without the clarity of his scholarship and the power of his personal example, I would not have undertaken this journey or had the courage to follow it where it led. I will be forever in his debt.

Lastly, I want to thank my wife and partner, Christina Hardy, who believed in me and in this work so deeply. She has been my life companion on the long trek down the psychedelic mountain. I could not have done this without her.