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Ayelet Waldman and Susan Orlean on Microdosing LSD

Ayelet Waldman is not what you would consider a psychedelic tripper or an acid freak: shes a former trial lawyer, a novelist, and a Berkeley-based mother of teenagers. Waldman suffered from depression, crippling mood swings, and Bipolar disorder. Her husband (novelist Michael Chabon) and children suffered right along with her for years. Through a mysterious friend of a friend, whose return address was simply "Lewis Carroll," Ayelet received a vial of LSD, a month's supply of micro doses to combat her disorder. What a difference a tiny drop of acid can make! In her new book, A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, Waldman describes the sensation of feeling alive, happy, productive and loving after months of hitting rock bottom. It is an exploration of discovering a potent--if illegal and intimidating-- cure for a condition that plagues so many people. A Really Good Day is laced with humor, social history about the public perception of LSD, and the revelations of a month-long experiment that lifted her from severe depression to another state altogether.

Susan Orlean is an author, journalist and one of our favorite contributors to The New Yorker. She's the author of The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin, and Saturday Night. Susan makes the ordinary extraordinary-- her articles range from treadmill desks to playing with her iPhone, to what happens in any number of places on Saturday night.