Description
Reviews
"Allene Symons has written an intriguing combination of an Aldous Huxley biography, a smart daughters memoir of her father, and science—ranging from schizophrenia to paranormal consciousness to psychedelics. Several years ago, while going through boxes in her familys garage, she found over one thousand photographs of hands, including Aldous Huxleys, that her father had taken over a two-decade period. What was her aircraft-engineer father trying to discover and how did he cross paths with Huxley? The answers are fascinating and sometimes mind-bending. . . . Its an absorbing and beguiling read.” —LISA SEE, author of China Dolls, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and On Gold Mountain
“What can be said about the work of Aldous Huxley that hasnt already been told? Quite a bit, it turns out. In this compelling narrative, Allene Symons uncovers a cache of letters between Huxley and the man who turned him on to psychedelic drugs, using those documents to spin a delightful tale of two men exploring the thin line between mysticism and madness. Symons deftly blends the legwork of a journalist with the passion of a daughter fascinated by her own fathers unlikely foray into Huxleys inner circle.”—DON LATTIN, author of The Harvard Psychedelic Club and Distilled Spirits
“The psychedelic Sixties didnt begin in the 1960s. That much is certain after reading Aldous Huxleys Hands. Allene Symons, an engaging writer and reporter, discovered in 2001 that in the 1950s her father, a photographer, was friends with the writer, philosopher, poet, and satirist whose experiments with hallucinogens opened The Doors of Perception. Symonss own explorations led to new revelations and insights about Huxley, as well as about her father. Both were ahead of their time, and their work resonates with the world today—and, of course, tomorrow.”—BEN FONG-TORRES, former senior editor, Rolling Stone; columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; and an Emmy Award–winning broadcaster