Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest by Adam Elenbaas (2010) - Nonfiction

A convincing and honest story about the healing powers of an ancient medicine

Adam Elenbaas takes us on a journey of multigenerational healing through the sacred South American indigenous concoction ayahuasca. In 276 pages he covers his Midwest Methodist upbringing; divulges into a life of hedonistic pleasures and ensuing agony; reveals his psychedelic-conscious altering ayahuasca experiences; and shows us his still imperfect, but fully renewed life. If you're a die-hard believer in Materialism (that only the material world exists) or are a conservative religious fundamentalist then I guarantee you'll won't agree theologically with Adam; I'm neither a Materialist nor religious fundamentalists and I don't agree with everything either. But that might be one of the biggest appeals of Fishers of Men: it's not self-indulging or preachy. It's an honest look into what it means to be holistically healed and how torturous that process can be. Adam doesn't care if you agree with his theology; fear-mongering conformatism is actually something that drove him to self-loathing and destruction. His gentle take-it or leave it style pervades Fishers of Men and compels you to turn page after page without an ounce of begrudgement.

Fishers of Men has two narratives at work. One covers Adam's multiple experiences with ayahuasca, most of which take place at El Puma Negra - a traditional Peruvian ayahuasca healing center. While the other narrative are highlights from his childhood to his present life working with people with schizophrenia and writing for OmWelness.org. Adam's creative writing education is evident from this narrative structure; taking you on two seamless intersecting journeys that complement each other well.

Adam relationship with his father is central to Fishers of Men. His father was a Methodist preacher who also covertly adopted traditional Native American beliefs. Adam describes childhood memories of late night canoe rides with his family where his father would read Romantic poetry and Greek and Native American mythologies. These experiences take on a religious relevance for Adam and his father, but this theological syncretism is another element of conflict they each face.

Even at a young age Adam recognized the rigidity and stifling drama that ended up consuming his father's attention and led to a severe depression. Feelings of estrangement increase between Adam and his father which is catalyst for Adam's deep dive into hard drugs, a plethora unhealthy sexual encounters, and other life-destroying habits. His disillusionment with both liberal and fundamentalists Christian denominations is also a contributing factor.

You've maybe heard of a growing reemergence in the use of psychedelic substances to help fight addictions to smoking, opiates, and an array of other drugs. Indi musician, Josh Tillman, even takes low dosages of LSD to help his depression and anxiety. Adam is crystal clear that ayahuasca is NOT a recreational fun drug. It's an ancient mixture of chacruna (a shrub also known as Pschotria viridis) and ayahuasca (the Banisteriopsis caapi vine) used by native peoples solely for healing purposes.

Almost immediately after his first ayahuasca experience his Western reductionist worldview creeps back, "I reflected on the difficulty of explaining ayahuasca to empirically minded, "scientific" people" (p. 29). He tries convincing himself with probing questions, "[h]ow had ancient human beings discovered this unusual drink? And how had they passed down the exact recipe for hundreds, maybe thousands of years?" (p. 29-30). He quickly realizes that this philosophical line of questioning is unhelpful for healing purposes and the "questions and answers became nothing more than another self-made virus" (p. 30). Quandaries like this are rare in book but I'm glad Adam included them since they're common questions stalking in the minds of most Westerners.

In wrenching detail Adam describes the process of purging, and visions of flying hungry dragons, black vipers, humanoid wasps, a variety of celestial beings, historical native peoples and places long deceased, colorful geometric patterns, and things that defy explanation like "robotic armies of Zen-perfect anger. [And] Razor sharp evil" (p. 164). Purging in an ayahuasca ceremony is more than simply throwing up, or detoxifying the body of physical contaminants. Adam explains it best:

It is not just a physical release, and it's not just the emotional, or spiritual, or

psychological release, but the phenomenal combination of all the above in an

astronomically unique event that makes the purge life altering. A scream

becomes the unique story of an entire lifetime, reaching out into the periphery of

individual freedom and divalike melody (p. 22).

When describing his ayahuasca vision quests Adam's honesty is eye-opening for someone like me - raised in a conservative Christian and sheltered environment with little knowledge of and no direct experience with anything remotely similar to vision quests. Adam manages to write with multiple audiences in mine: the Materialistic skeptic, the fundamentalist Christian (also a skeptic), the burdened person who will do anything to be healed, and the hippy spiritual seeker. He seems to accomplish this because he writes first and foremost for himself; this vulnerability is refreshing and adds more credibility to his remarkable story.

His credibility is magnified since he touts both the benefits and possible dangers of ayahuasca and other hallucinogens, "While growing we must remember that what appears "expansive" or "open-minded" may not be healthy" (p. 222). He recalls mistakes from past generations with drugs like LSD and mushrooms when healthy boundaries were broken and destructive habits were formed. The overall thrust of his story is ayahuasca for the sake of healing; not free-love, mind-expansion, socialism, vegetarianism, environmentalism, or any other -ism.

Adam Elenbaas presents some contestable ideas. For example, certain words Jesus says during Adam's vision quests or a recurring theme in the inherent goodness of human nature. But the cliche idiom fits here: "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," or more fitting: Don't throw the healing lessons of ayahuasca out because the title of the book contains a substance deemed illegal in the United Stages. The world needs more of what Adam Elenbaas fervently and eloquently presents: healing, restoration, and humility.

Highest Score - 5 Trophies

Writing: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Readability: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Argument: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Overall: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆