Previously in Her Magic Mushroom Memoir:
Lidiya returned to Brooklyn shaken by her collapse in Venice—and even more so by what followed. As her mind drifted through research, memories, and grief, a second collapse led to an MRI scan, and with it, a life-changing diagnosis. As she tries to ground herself—gardening, foraging, cooking—signs and memories keep surfacing. A mushroom known as "the trumpet of the dead," a haunting dream, a visit from the past. Now, with her time suddenly uncertain, one thing is clear: she must begin her story before it's too late.
In this episode Lidiya reflects more deeply than before on the origins of a symbolic object—a small mushroom carving—that carries weight from a long-ago chapter of her life. As memories resurface, we're taken back to a 1965 conference, where a young Lidiya was already turning heads in the psychedelic science world. There, she met a man who offered something more than just professional praise: he hinted at a shadowy path she might take. Now, decades later, those choices echo louder than ever—and with her time running short, the question remains: how much truth is she willing to tell?
Copyright 2025 John H. Wasson
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