Fishers of men : the gospel of an ayahuasca vision quest

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Title:

Fishers of men : the gospel of an ayahuasca vision quest

Author:

Elenbaas, Adam.

ISBN:

9781585427918

Publication Information:

New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2010.

Physical Description:

276 p. ; 22 cm.

Contents:

God's bathroom floor -- Take this cup -- Limbo in Lydia -- La purga -- Achra/arachna-phobia -- Being of one mind -- Shape shifting -- On the banks of Lake Wobegon -- Healing Christian wounds -- The voice of one in the desert -- The walking woman -- Sins of the fathers -- La dieta -- Pray without ceasing -- Playing Indian -- The word becomes flesh -- Entrainment -- Virgin star of the sea -- Sins of the fathers (II) -- The cave of the apocalypse -- A light in the dark -- A kingdom divided against itself -- Climbing Jacob's ladder -- Sins of the fathers (III) -- Walking the talk -- Son of a preacher man -- Self-centered -- The shamanic fine print -- Sins of the fathers (IV) -- Tending the garden -- Dry heaving -- A new covenant -- Believe in your heart -- Alpha and omega -- Art therapy -- Epilogue : returning the elders.

Personal Subject:

Elenbaas, Adam.

Subject Term:

Spiritual biography.

Hallucinogenic drugs and religious experience -- South America.

Ayahuasca ceremony -- South America.

Shamanism -- South America.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	299.8 ELE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In the tradition of memoirs like Daniel Pinchbeck's 2012 and Jim Carroll's The Basketball Diaries , Adam Elenbaas's Fishers of Men chronicles his journey from intense self-destruction and crippling depression to self-acceptance, inner awareness, and spiritual understanding, through participation in mindexpanding-and healing ayahuasca ceremonies in South America and beyond.

From his troubled and rebellious youth as a Methodist minister's son in Minnesota, to his sex and substance abuse-fueled downward spiral in Chicago and New York, culminating in a depressive breakdown, Elenbaas is plagued by a feeling of emptiness and a desperate search for meaning for most of his young life. After hitting rock bottom at his grandfather's house in rural Michigan, a chance experience with psychedelic mushrooms convinces him that he must change his ways to achieve the sense of peace that he has always desired. Several subsequent psychedelic experiences inspire him to embark on a quest to South America and take part in a shamanic ceremony, where he consumes ayahuasca, a jungle vine revered for its spiritual properties.

Over the course of nearly forty ayahuasca ceremonies during four years, Elenbaas discovers the truth about his own life and past, and begins to mend himself from the inside out. Fishers of Men is the gripping, heartbreaking, and yet ultimately uplifting story of the power to transcend one's past.

Author Notes

Originally from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Adam Elenbaas holds an M.A. in creative writing from Central Michigan University and an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Georgia College & State University. He lives in New York City and works as a case manager and activity therapist for adult schizophrenics at a single resident occupancy. Elenbaas is also the associate director of OmWellness, a holistic health practitioner certification program based in Manhattan, and one of the founding writers/contributing editors of Reality Sandwich, an online magazine.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Ayahuasca is a highly psychotropic brew traditionally used for divinatory and healing practices in South America. It's at the heart of this memoir charting the reconciliation of Elenbaas' wounded religious past as a minister's troubled son with his current holistic, nonsectarian spirituality. With a nod to angst-filled coming-of-age accounts like Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries (1978) and addiction-recovery fiction such as Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son (1992), Elenbaas takes readers on a clear-eyed tour of childhood memories and hallucinatory ayahuasca ceremonies, drawing clear lines between early traumas and his later spiritual grappling. Though the themes he wrangles with aren't new (an itinerant childhood, his father's depression and infidelity, the glamor of Fundamentalist Christianity), the candor with which he expresses his confusion in attempting to develop a coherent spiritual narrative for his life is refreshing. To call this a gospel, as Elenbaas does in the subtitle, might sound grandiose at first. But being a firsthand Evangelical account of the wonders of spiritual exploration and discovery via ayahuasca makes it one, of a sort, and an engrossing one, at that.--Lagodzinski, Taina Copyright 2010 Booklist

1 God's Bathroom Floor	p. 1
2 Take this Cup	p. 3
3 Limbo in Lydia	p. 9
4 La Purga	p. 21
5 Achra/Arachna-Phobia	p. 32
6 Being of one Mind	p. 43
7 Shape Shifting	p. 51
8 On the Banks of Lake Wobegon	p. 61
9 Healing Christian Wounds	p. 72
10 The Voice of One in the Desert	p. 76
11 The Walking Women	p. 81
12 Sins of the Fathers	p. 90
13 La Dieta	p. 94
14 Pray Without Ceasing	p. 105
15 Playing Indian	p. 109
16 The Word Becomes Flesh	p. 122
17 Entrainment	p. 131
18 Virgin Star of the Sea	p. 136
19 Sins of the Fathers (II)	p. 148
20 The Cave of the Apocalypse	p. 152
21 A Light in the Dark	p. 160
22 A Kingdom Divided Against Itself	p. 167
23 Climbing Jacob's Ladder	p. 172
24 Sins of the Fathers (III)	p. 189
25 Walking the Talk	p. 192
26 Son of a Preacher Man	p. 205
27 Self-Centered	p. 216
28 The Shamanic Fine Print	p. 222
29 Sins of the Fathers (IV)	p. 228
30 Tending the Garden	p. 230
31 Day Heaving	p. 241
32 A New Covenant	p. 246
33 Believe in your Heart	p. 258
34 Alpha and Omega	p. 263
35 Art Therapy	p. 266
Epilogue: Returning the Elders	p. 270
Acknowledgments	p. 277
About the Author	p. 278

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Summary

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Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

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