What's God Got to do With Ayahuasca?
Visit THIS LINK for a wonderful interview I did with Author and St. John's Professor Bill Torgerson on the subject of Ayahuasca and God.
Disinformation Podcast Covers Ayahuasca and Fishers of Men!
Check out this interview with Disinformation the Podcast. We covered a lot of rich ground in an hour!
Publishers Weekly In Profile August 2010
First-time author Adam Elenbaas says his mother and father are reading their son's memoir, Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest (Tarcher, Aug.) in their book club. In the coming-of-age tale, Elenbaas chronicles not only his substance abuse and sexual promiscuity that leads to an STD, but also his father's extramarital affair and emotional breakdown.
"All the members of my family have become honest and reflective about everything that went down in our family, says Elenbaas, whose father wrote the epilogue. Elenbaas's own journey back to sobriety and emotional stability took him to a Peruvian jungle, where he participated in almost 50 shamanic ceremonies that involved ayahuasca, a psychedelic jungle vine. It purged him, literally and spiritually. But it's strong medicine. "Ayahuasca isn't for everyone, he says; he especially wants people to understand that it has a healing function, and he doesn't advocate the recreational use of psychedelic drugs.
He describes in his book some of his drug-induced visions, including many visions of Jesus. His father was a Methodist minister (who has since left the ministry) who pastored parishes in Minnesota. Rebelling against his Minnesota Protestant upbringing, the teenage Elenbaas chose to become a Bible-toting "Baptist fundamentalist who learned to speak in tongues, and he attended an evangelical Christian college. Since that time, his religious practice has changed, yet he feels more Christian than ever, albeit a universalist believer whose faith embraces paradox. "I feel like Jesus was a prophet and healer who was one of many, planting a holy doctrine, Elenbaas says.
Elenbaas, 29, recently left his job working with adult schizophrenics in New York and is involved in a Christian exploration of the ayahuasca experience. And he is working on a second book drawing on his life in what he considers its second stage. "What I'm writing now is very much about relationships, sexuality, money, career—your place in life now that you have to deal with the culture you're part of, he says.
—Marcia Z. Nelson
"All the members of my family have become honest and reflective about everything that went down in our family, says Elenbaas, whose father wrote the epilogue. Elenbaas's own journey back to sobriety and emotional stability took him to a Peruvian jungle, where he participated in almost 50 shamanic ceremonies that involved ayahuasca, a psychedelic jungle vine. It purged him, literally and spiritually. But it's strong medicine. "Ayahuasca isn't for everyone, he says; he especially wants people to understand that it has a healing function, and he doesn't advocate the recreational use of psychedelic drugs.
He describes in his book some of his drug-induced visions, including many visions of Jesus. His father was a Methodist minister (who has since left the ministry) who pastored parishes in Minnesota. Rebelling against his Minnesota Protestant upbringing, the teenage Elenbaas chose to become a Bible-toting "Baptist fundamentalist who learned to speak in tongues, and he attended an evangelical Christian college. Since that time, his religious practice has changed, yet he feels more Christian than ever, albeit a universalist believer whose faith embraces paradox. "I feel like Jesus was a prophet and healer who was one of many, planting a holy doctrine, Elenbaas says.
Elenbaas, 29, recently left his job working with adult schizophrenics in New York and is involved in a Christian exploration of the ayahuasca experience. And he is working on a second book drawing on his life in what he considers its second stage. "What I'm writing now is very much about relationships, sexuality, money, career—your place in life now that you have to deal with the culture you're part of, he says.
—Marcia Z. Nelson
A New Vision of Self in the Amazon: An Interview with Real Change Seattle!
In announcement of my reading at the East/West bookstore in Seattle, Washington, Real Change News did an interview with me on my book!
Getting High with Jesus: The East Bay Express Covers Fishers of Men!
In preparation for my visit to Berkeley this August, the East Bay Express wrote a wonderful story about Fishers of Men.
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) July 2010
Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest
Adam Elenbaas, Tarcher/Penguin, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-58542-791-8
Author Elenbaas, a New York writer and therapist who grew up Minnesota-nice until he rebelled into a sex-and-drugs period, writes of his discovery of the curative and transformative power of the psychedelic experience. Elenbaas participated in ayahuasca healing in Peru; ayahuasca is a jungle vine brewed to make a highly purgative, hallucinogenic drink. The healing experiences allow Elenbaas to come to terms with himself and a family history of men who can't figure out what to do with themselves. At the heart of the book is the relationship between Elenbaas and his father, a well-intentioned progressive Midwestern Methodist minister who cares more for his job than for his family. The tension in their relationship is heartbreakingly poignant, and the book's best writing comes when Elenbaas writes with an observer's eye about his family and his experiences. The conclusions he draws are less than profound, but the journey he writes about should not be missed. Less about drugs and more about family, this is a book for fathers and their sons; it beats the swagger of war stories. (Aug.)
Adam Elenbaas, Tarcher/Penguin, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-58542-791-8
Author Elenbaas, a New York writer and therapist who grew up Minnesota-nice until he rebelled into a sex-and-drugs period, writes of his discovery of the curative and transformative power of the psychedelic experience. Elenbaas participated in ayahuasca healing in Peru; ayahuasca is a jungle vine brewed to make a highly purgative, hallucinogenic drink. The healing experiences allow Elenbaas to come to terms with himself and a family history of men who can't figure out what to do with themselves. At the heart of the book is the relationship between Elenbaas and his father, a well-intentioned progressive Midwestern Methodist minister who cares more for his job than for his family. The tension in their relationship is heartbreakingly poignant, and the book's best writing comes when Elenbaas writes with an observer's eye about his family and his experiences. The conclusions he draws are less than profound, but the journey he writes about should not be missed. Less about drugs and more about family, this is a book for fathers and their sons; it beats the swagger of war stories. (Aug.)
The Agony Column with Rick Kleffel: Caught by Fishers of Men
07-20-10: Adam Elenbaas is Caught by 'Fishers of Men'
The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest
Our religions do not serve us as well as we might wish. We're told that it's hard-wired into out brains, this sort of belief in a supernatural otherworld peopled by beings who care about our destiny. But when the otherworldliness finds itself placed in the turbulence of a life in this world, it struggles to hold its power over our vision. We question both our beliefs and the worthiness of our daily lives. Neither seems to hold a real answer.
The effect is exponential when religion is a part of our daily lives. It is after all, a paying job for some. And a burden for their children, who find themselves rebelling agains not just the daily drudge, but the otherworld as well. As Flannery O'Connor's Hazel Motes asks — and answers — in her novel 'Wise Blood,' "'Where is there a place for you to be?'"
Nowhere.
Adam Elenbaas starts pretty much at Nowhere in his memoir 'Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest' (Tarcher / Penguin ; July 22, 2010 ; $24.95). It's a complicated, twisty little memoir that manages to pack a wallop as Elenbaas explores his own life, which itself is an exploration. This sort of fractal vision is important to 'Fishers of Men.' You start your life, after all, inside. Then as you grow up, you go further inward.
From the get-go, there's a raw feeling to this story of fathers, sons and belief. Not just in the scenario (Adam hovering outside the bathroom door as his father pukes his way through withdrawal from regular drugs in preparation for an ayahuasca ceremony), but in the language as well. Elenbaas writes prose that is snipped, clipped and compressed. But there's an ache behind all of this convoluted revelation, one that we can all readily identify with.
The story is complicated and so is the exposition. Adam is the son of a Methodist minister. It may be a "like father, like son" scenario, but that only means that everyone is troubled. Adam certainly does not begin by following in his father's path. Instead, he ends up in a search for sensation; sex, drugs, it does not matter because you cannot fill a void with a void. The first stage of his youth ends badly, but there's a glimmer of hope that leads him to the world of the ayahuasca vision quest.
Elenbaas knows how to pull apart his timeline and put it back together in an order than makes for compelling reading. He's a passionate write and even his religious beliefs come through as raw and authentic. He's an unsparing chronicler of his own and others' faults. But this only serves to make his revelations more powerful to the reader. As a writer, he knows that he has to create characters, plot, to do more than reveal. He has to find a story in his life and a way to tell that story. He manages to do so and the balancing act of avoiding pathos and self-pity.
'Fishers of Men' is also a fascinating journey into the heart of belief, that hard-wired attraction to the otherworldly. Raised as a Christian and inclined to believe thus, Elenbaas finds himself thrust into a very different vision of the otherworld. Readers explore and experience the ayahuasca vision quest with the writer. The synthesis that Elenbaas achieves is gritty and powerful, since he rounds us back and grounds us in characters.
Elenbaas is one of the folks behind Reality Sandwich, along with Daniel Pinchbeck. Reality Sandwich bills itself as "a web magazine for this time of intense transformation," and this book keeps with those themes, but plays them out in a somewhat grittier fashion. Yes, there is a touch of evangelism about this work, but it's subsumed in the more immediate story of personal transformation. 'Fishers of Men' is about the revelation of character, not a revelation of belief.
What's interesting here is not just the ayahuasca vision, or the synthesis that Elenbaas achieves. What's really gripping here, is that with a character-driven story, the author manages to offer an informed vision of vision. It's that fractal effect. And one needs must remember Flannery O'Connor's follow-through.
"If you've got a good car, then you do not need to be redeemed."
The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest
Our religions do not serve us as well as we might wish. We're told that it's hard-wired into out brains, this sort of belief in a supernatural otherworld peopled by beings who care about our destiny. But when the otherworldliness finds itself placed in the turbulence of a life in this world, it struggles to hold its power over our vision. We question both our beliefs and the worthiness of our daily lives. Neither seems to hold a real answer.
The effect is exponential when religion is a part of our daily lives. It is after all, a paying job for some. And a burden for their children, who find themselves rebelling agains not just the daily drudge, but the otherworld as well. As Flannery O'Connor's Hazel Motes asks — and answers — in her novel 'Wise Blood,' "'Where is there a place for you to be?'"
Nowhere.
Adam Elenbaas starts pretty much at Nowhere in his memoir 'Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest' (Tarcher / Penguin ; July 22, 2010 ; $24.95). It's a complicated, twisty little memoir that manages to pack a wallop as Elenbaas explores his own life, which itself is an exploration. This sort of fractal vision is important to 'Fishers of Men.' You start your life, after all, inside. Then as you grow up, you go further inward.
From the get-go, there's a raw feeling to this story of fathers, sons and belief. Not just in the scenario (Adam hovering outside the bathroom door as his father pukes his way through withdrawal from regular drugs in preparation for an ayahuasca ceremony), but in the language as well. Elenbaas writes prose that is snipped, clipped and compressed. But there's an ache behind all of this convoluted revelation, one that we can all readily identify with.
The story is complicated and so is the exposition. Adam is the son of a Methodist minister. It may be a "like father, like son" scenario, but that only means that everyone is troubled. Adam certainly does not begin by following in his father's path. Instead, he ends up in a search for sensation; sex, drugs, it does not matter because you cannot fill a void with a void. The first stage of his youth ends badly, but there's a glimmer of hope that leads him to the world of the ayahuasca vision quest.
Elenbaas knows how to pull apart his timeline and put it back together in an order than makes for compelling reading. He's a passionate write and even his religious beliefs come through as raw and authentic. He's an unsparing chronicler of his own and others' faults. But this only serves to make his revelations more powerful to the reader. As a writer, he knows that he has to create characters, plot, to do more than reveal. He has to find a story in his life and a way to tell that story. He manages to do so and the balancing act of avoiding pathos and self-pity.
'Fishers of Men' is also a fascinating journey into the heart of belief, that hard-wired attraction to the otherworldly. Raised as a Christian and inclined to believe thus, Elenbaas finds himself thrust into a very different vision of the otherworld. Readers explore and experience the ayahuasca vision quest with the writer. The synthesis that Elenbaas achieves is gritty and powerful, since he rounds us back and grounds us in characters.
Elenbaas is one of the folks behind Reality Sandwich, along with Daniel Pinchbeck. Reality Sandwich bills itself as "a web magazine for this time of intense transformation," and this book keeps with those themes, but plays them out in a somewhat grittier fashion. Yes, there is a touch of evangelism about this work, but it's subsumed in the more immediate story of personal transformation. 'Fishers of Men' is about the revelation of character, not a revelation of belief.
What's interesting here is not just the ayahuasca vision, or the synthesis that Elenbaas achieves. What's really gripping here, is that with a character-driven story, the author manages to offer an informed vision of vision. It's that fractal effect. And one needs must remember Flannery O'Connor's follow-through.
"If you've got a good car, then you do not need to be redeemed."
Tarcher Talks
Fishers of Men: A Conversation with Adam Elenbaas Adam Elenbaas sits down with Tarcher Editor-in-Chief Mitch Horowitz to discuss his new book, Fishers of Men. Elenbaas delves into the themes at the heart of his memoir: family and his coming of age. He also details the power of the shamanic ceremonies in South America...
Adam Elenbaas sits down with Tarcher Editor-in-Chief Mitch Horowitz to discuss his new book, Fishers of Men. Elenbaas delves into the themes at the heart of his memoir: family and his coming of age. He also details the power of the shamanic ceremonies in South America where he consumed ayahuasca, a psychedelic jungle vine revered for its mind-expanding spiritual properties.
In a separate conversation, Elenbaas discusses the spiritual powers of ayahuasca with Jonathan Talat Phillips, community director for the fast-growing community website, Evolver.net, and creator of "The Ayahuasca Monologues: Tales of the Spirit Vine."
Adam Elenbaas sits down with Tarcher Editor-in-Chief Mitch Horowitz to discuss his new book, Fishers of Men. Elenbaas delves into the themes at the heart of his memoir: family and his coming of age. He also details the power of the shamanic ceremonies in South America where he consumed ayahuasca, a psychedelic jungle vine revered for its mind-expanding spiritual properties.
In a separate conversation, Elenbaas discusses the spiritual powers of ayahuasca with Jonathan Talat Phillips, community director for the fast-growing community website, Evolver.net, and creator of "The Ayahuasca Monologues: Tales of the Spirit Vine."
If you would like to receive a free galley copy of Adam's book for a blurb, blog, interview or book review, please contact Adam or Tarcher/Penguin at: fishersofmenbook@gmail.com or Brianna.Yamashita@us.penguingroup.com
