Distilled Spirits -- Getting High, Then Sober, With a Famous Writer, a Forgotten Philosopher, and a Hopeless Drunk

by Don Lattin

Distilled Spirits blends a religion reporter's memoir with the compelling
stories of three men--Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, and Bill
Wilson--who transformed the landscape of Western religion and
spirituality in the twentieth century. Huxley, celebrated author of
Brave New World, ignited a generation that chased utopian dreams
and sought enlightenment through psychedelic drugs. Heard, an
Anglo-Irish mystic, journeyed to California with Huxley in the 1930s
to lay the foundations for the New Age and human potential
movements. Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, joined
forces with Huxley and Heard in the 1940s and 1950s, when Wilson
began a series of little-known experiments to see if LSD could be used
to help diehard drunks.

Their life stories are gracefully brought together by veteran journalist
Don Lattin. Lattin recounts his own rocky personal journey from
1960s and 1970s counter-culture, through the fast-living, cocaine-fueled
1980s and 1990s, to his long struggle to get sober. By weaving
an intimate account of his own recovery with the lives of the book's
three central characters, Lattin shows us the redemptive power of story
telling, the strength of fellowship, and the power of living more
compassionately, one day at a time.

Genres: History, Biography, Psychology

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Don Lattin is an award-winning journalist and who covers alternative and mainstream religious movements and figures in America. His work has appeared in dozens of U.S. magazines and newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, where Lattin covered the religion beat for nearly two decades. He is also the author of six books.

Reviews

[J.B. Siewers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting timeline for these guys, something I never knew I didn't know. The realities of Bill W and his flaws was as revealing as pulling the curtain back in Oz. Somehow , with all my cynical experience I still put Bill up on a pedestal and it's good to see his struggles. Also good to clarify some of those rumors around LSD. As for Huxley I had forgotten about him, and how much I read his stuff late in high school. Never heard of Heard but apparently he was a thinker............Funny now I'm out here myself ............The string from after the Great War and through the twenties all the way to the Doors of the late 60's intrigues me. Connecting the dots, finding out the 60's free love and rock and roll and experimental drugs started way before the 60's were born. And how the greatest spiritual movement of the 20th Century interacted with this is amazing. Not a page turner, but Lattin mixes in enough of his life to relate to mine, like looking in a cracked mirror.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So one point author Lattin's story makes (implicitly, though cogently) is that there are “drugs” and then there are “drugs”—that this broad and often-pejorative term is applied to many substances, widely varied in effects.

Lattin, a metro-newspaper religion columnist grown tired and cynical, suffers from absence of any faith (or optimism concerning the subject matter of his beat). His discomfort from lack of hope is palpable. The situation has led to a pattern of avoidance through desperate socializing coupled with reliance on cocaine and alcohol. The final heartening part: his way back to light — facilitated by his first LSD trip since his callow, venturesome youth.

Hence Lattin's respectful fascination with the pioneers exploring the intelligent and earnest use of psychedelics, specifically: philosopher Heard, social-commentary giant Huxley, and leading-light (of sobriety) Bill Wilson. Lattin provides a good sketch of the life paths of these three influential men. Not having myself read bios of any length about Heard or Wilson, I enjoyed learning more about each of them.

[David Crumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Lattin is one of America's most important chroniclers of untold stories that are shaping our religious culture. A veteran journalist based in San Francisco, his previous books have thrown open windows into one mysterious spiritual movement after another. Earlier, I highly recommended his book, The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America. That book told the strange story of how four of the most important spiritual voices of the late 20th century passed through a powerful and painful convergence at Harvard.

Don steps back a couple of decades in this new book: Distilled Spirits, revealing the connections between three major figures: Bill Wilson, Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard. The result of their creative collision, among other things, shaped one of the most important grassroots spiritual movements in American history: Alcoholics Anonymous.

The over-arching nature of Don's work--after many years as a religion newswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle--is to lift up movements in American spiritual life that directly affect our lives today. I can also recommend Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today. And, coming right up to the new millennium, he co-wrote Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium.

There are many fine non-fiction books about the strange twists and turns of religious life in America. Sociologists studying global culture tell us that our nation is unique because of the intensity of our religious interests (we rank with Iran and Pakistan in the depth of our spiritual fascination) coupled with our deep assumptions about self expression (we rank with Scandinavia in those cultural values). So, a number of talented historians have been unearthing these "untold stories." Another author I can strongly recommend is Mitch Horowitz, whose books form almost a companion to Don Lattin's body of work. Among Mitch's best is Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation. You may also be interested in individual volumes by Gary Lachman, who has been charting other key figures in American spiritual life. Among Gary's best is Madame Blavatsky: The Mother of Modern Spirituality.

Years ago, such books were considered exotica--"alternative" books that often were hard to find. Thanks to our growing appreciation of religious diversity in America and huge "bookstores" like Amazon, these books now exist side by side with standard volumes in the field of religious studies.

Having said all of that about Don's new book and this genre, don't think of the books I have recommended here as dry volumes for college courses. Don's new book certainly isn't stodgy. In the book, Don reveals his own years-long struggle with addiction and provides a hard-earned personal perspective on why Heard, Huxley and Wilson are so important to millions of men and women to this day. You'll find yourself flipping one page after another as Don takes you through all four lives, his own included with the title trio.


Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today
Jesus Freaks
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America

Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation

Madame Blavatsky: The Mother of Modern Spirituality

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially was drawn to this book because of the topic of LSD and Huxley. But in the end it was the author's Buddhist / Taoist leanings that spoke to me. Am I a problem drinker? A friend asked me that last week. I don't know. I don't think so. But I keep in front of me my/ our fragility and never think I am immune.

[C]

Pretty fun. Too much, too many characters, but there are worse sins in writing. The group bio thing never really came together for me. But a quick, engaging, nicely written read

[Maleah Grover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to learn about Huxley, Heard and Wilson and didn’t realize so much of the book would be memoir.

[Leah K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Distilled Spirits: Getting High, Then Sober, with a Famous Writer, A Forgotten Philosopher, and a Hopeless Drunk by Don Lattin

★ ½

This is a memoir about a religion journalist who struggled through drug and alcohol abuse for many decades until cleaning up his act in the 2000s. Along the way he intertwines his story with the famous writer (Aldous Huxley), the forgotten philosopher (Gerald Heard), and the hopeless drink (Bill Wilson – co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous). The search for spirituality and peace are primary in this book. Sounds interesting, right? Well…no. It wasn’t. Don Lattin’s struggle rarely comes out during this book, leaving me feeling no attachment towards the actual writer. Everything is muddled with the story of these people and with plenty of others added in, it just became a mess. It was hard for me to concentrate or care for the most part. There were some interesting tidbits and humorous parts but not enough to redeem itself. I think the book had potential but it was lost in trying to add so much into such a small book (270 pages). It often just felt like the ramblings of someone and I often skimmed, then having to go back because I had no idea what happened…not that I particularly cared, I was just hoping I had missed something to redeem this. No luck there. Oh well, on to bigger and better things I hope!

[Ethan Killgore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a curious history of how Aldous Huxley, Bill Wilson, and Gerald Heard explored psychadelics as a means to achieve or expand spiritual experience. It's written by a journalist from northern Cali who chronicles the history of his own experience with the topic in parallel with these three notable figures. While it feels a little meandering at points, it left me with a slightly shifted perspective on the topic and the people described. Worth a read.

[JJ W · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illuminating and well-researched look into the lives of three important men who changed the course of religiosity and spirituality in the west. Also a fascinating personal memoir by a gifted author. Great insights into addiction and the meaning of life. I wished it was longer. I didn't want it to end.

[Prakash mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed his research and journalism with regard to Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard and Bill Wilson and was not so interested in his own journey which although mirrored elements of the three men he was writing about was not what I was interested in

[Gary Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's what I wrote in the paper:
http://www.metroactive.com/features/c...

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting history indeed.