 
Ayahuasca: The Visionary and Healing Powers of the Vine of the Soul
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 10
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 On: 2008-02-17
Interesting for the beginner perhaps...She went to Peru and took ayahuasca several times with a small group of friends. This is an interesting story of her trip but I wouldnt call it authoritative on the subject; ancedotal maybe. Ayahuasca tourism. Not that she didnt have some deep experiences, but its kind of a new age tourists perspective. Difficult to describe in words, one of these journeys. Kudos to her for trying.
 On: 2008-01-12
Maybe you want help deciding if the ayahuasca experience is something you want to attempt. Maybe you hope that someone you can relate to, someone a little like you, is doing the thing you dream about, and telling the tale.
You probably hope that when the story is told its as honest as it can be when revealing personal information about the journey, and that the author describes both the difficult and the sublime instances of the story with little regard for how it might make them appear to the reader.
Im guessing your mature and well read yourself, and so you know the book wont have everything you need, wont satisfy all your questions and isnt the last or final word on the subject. I imagine the particular flavor your searching for usually requires that you wander through the whole subject garden, alighting on many pages as you seek to satisfy your own particular preferences.
Joan Parisi Wilcox isnt even a little bit like me in the way of profession, gender or background. We have nothing in common there, but her honesty, courage, determination, and deeply personal insights left plenty to savor as I buzzed happily through the pages.
On: 2007-06-24
This is a great account of Joan Wilcoxs experiences with ayahuasca within the context of the true Amazon shaman traditions and her own spiritual journey. A must read for anyone interested in shamanic wisdom and the use of ayahuasca and other plants as teachers.
 On: 2004-09-13
If this book had been released in the late 80s it would have been revelatory. However, its 2004 and theres nothing new here. In fact, you may read more words of wisdom by entering "ayahuasca trip report" on your net browser. Its all a bit dull. The author and various others she writes about seem to be interested in taking ayahuasca for sorting out their own neuroses/problems, e.g. "Mother Ayahuasca, help me with my fear". A straight sitter would have been an asset to record the trips as they happened. This is what helped make True Hallucinations a great read: Terence McKenna was there to record his brother Denniss reportss from the peripheries of reality. Here, Wilcox has to rely on her memory and her memory fails her on occasion. Theres also too much waffle on what others have written about ayahuasca for my liking.
This is basically an advert for ayahuasca tourism, although Wilcox says she visited a proper healer. Late in the book this healer states he thinks ayahuasca tourism is a good thing because it keeps the old traditions alive. Wilcox makes the point that ayahuasca is dangerous if taken without the supervision of a trained ayasquero. However, not one statistic is supplied about how anyone has been taken ill by taking it away from a traditional setting. Therefore this statement may just be a bit of propaganda to encourage the ayahuasca tourism trade.
On: 2004-09-12
If this book had been released in the late 80s it would have been revelatory. However, its 2004 and theres nothing new here. In fact, you may read more words of wisdom by entering "ayahuasca trip report" on your net browser. Its all a bit dull. The author and various others she writes about seem to be interested in taking ayahuasca for sorting out their own neuroses/problems, e.g. "Mother Ayahuasca, help me with my fear". A straight sitter would have been an asset to record the trips as they happened. This is what helped make True Hallucinations a great read: Terence McKenna was there to record his brother Denniss reportss from the peripheries of reality. Here, Wilcox has to rely on her memory and her memory fails her on occasion. Theres also too much waffle on what others have written about ayahuasca for my liking.
This is basically an advert for ayahuasca tourism, although Wilcox says she visited a proper healer. Late in the book this healer states he thinks ayahuasca tourism is a good thing because it keeps the old traditions alive. Wilcox makes the point that ayahuasca is dangerous if taken without the supervision of a trained ayasquero. However, not one statistic is supplied about how anyone has been taken ill by taking it away from a traditional setting. Therefore this statement may just be a bit of propaganda to encourage the ayahuasca tourism trade.
On: 2004-08-02
What I really like and respect about this book, in addition to the excellent factual material it provides about ayahuasca, is the intensity of the personal viewpoint it provides. There are a lot of books that cover the science of ayahuasca, and its history and ethnobotany. There are even some good books, like Metzners, that combine sciene with excerpts from experiences by "regular" people. But this is the only book Ive found that showed in a sustained way what its really like to study with this plant teacher from a personal perspective. In fact, thats what the author frankly explains as her intent, and its what she delivers--beautifully. If you dont want a memoir, an intimately personal experience, then dont read a memoir. You cant, as at least one reviewer has done, blast a book for being exactly what it claims to be! But if you do want a personal portrait that also includes excellent additional factual material, then this book is among the best.
In addition, I think there is little that is self-indulgent about this author. Some reviewers have charged the author with wearing rose-colored glasses and romanticizing her experiences. Have they read the same book? Maybe their memory is selective. I found the author to be surprisingly frank, especially about her fears and about the embarrassing situations that came up during her ayahuasca retreat. She certainly doesnt try to "pretty" things up in the least. Yes, she does take an intensely spiritual perspective, even what some might call "New Age," which some might not agree with. But I found her insights heart-felt and sincere. I also found her experiences caused me to ask a lot of questions about my own journey. For instance, when she is visited by the "spirit doctors," she becomes frightened and asks them to leave. It caused me to wonder how I would react to unexpected and startling spiritual events. As the author says, its one thing to think about such things. Its another to actually live them!
I also found this author to be fair-minded about the allure of the ayahuasca tourism trade (she doesnt support it) and about the growing underground trend to treat ayahusaca as just another psychedelic experience. She speaks out strongly on this, asking all of us to respect indigenous tradition. In fact, her respect for this plant teacher is everywhere evident in this book.
I say "thanks" to Joan for putting it all out there for others to learn by. Because of her book, I have a much better understanding of and appreciation for what the ayahuasca retreat experience can be like--not through the eyes of a scientist, botanist, or other professional, but through the eyes of someone not unlike most of us. Sure, this is only one persons experience, but the author also presents testimonies from several others, a few of which say they wouldnt work with ayahuasca again. This is an account of the rigors and the mysteries of working with visionary plants that really takes you there, into the jungle, to share the experience. I think its a page-turner and that the author has a sensitive eye and ear for the environment. She transported me there, into the world of an ayahuasca retreat in the Amazon, like few other books on the subject. Thats why I highly recommend this book for those who want a real glimpse behind the scenes of an ayahuasca retreat.
On: 2004-08-01
What I really like and respect about this book, in addition to the excellent factual material it provides about ayahuasca, is the intensity of the personal viewpoint it provides. There are a lot of books that cover the science of ayahuasca, and its history and ethnobotany. There are even some good books, like Metzners, that combine sciene with excerpts from experiences by "regular" people. But this is the only book Ive found that showed in a sustained way what its really like to study with this plant teacher from a personal perspective. In fact, thats what the author frankly explains as her intent, and its what she delivers--beautifully. If you dont want a memoir, an intimately personal experience, then dont read a memoir. You cant, as at least one reviewer has done, blast a book for being exactly what it claims to be! But if you do want a personal portrait that also includes excellent additional factual material, then this book is among the best.
In addition, I think there is little that is self-indulgent about this author. Some reviewers have charged the author with wearing rose-colored glasses and romanticizing her experiences. Have they read the same book? Maybe their memory is selective. I found the author to be surprisingly frank, especially about her fears and about the embarrassing situations that came up during her ayahuasca retreat. She certainly doesnt try to "pretty" things up in the least. Yes, she does take an intensely spiritual perspective, even what some might call "New Age," which some might not agree with. But I found her insights heart-felt and sincere. I also found her experiences caused me to ask a lot of questions about my own journey. For instance, when she is visited by the "spirit doctors," she becomes frightened and asks them to leave. It caused me to wonder how I would react to unexpected and startling spiritual events. As the author says, its one thing to think about such things. Its another to actually live them!
I also found this author to be fair-minded about the allure of the ayahuasca tourism trade (she doesnt support it) and about the growing underground trend to treat ayahusaca as just another psychedelic experience. She speaks out strongly on this, asking all of us to respect indigenous tradition. In fact, her respect for this plant teacher is everywhere evident in this book.
I say "thanks" to Joan for putting it all out there for others to learn by. Because of her book, I have a much better understanding of and appreciation for what the ayahuasca retreat experience can be like--not through the eyes of a scientist, botanist, or other professional, but through the eyes of someone not unlike most of us. Sure, this is only one persons experience, but the author also presents testimonies from several others, a few of which say they wouldnt work with ayahuasca again. This is an account of the rigors and the mysteries of working with visionary plants that really takes you there, into the jungle, to share the experience. I think its a page-turner and that the author has a sensitive eye and ear for the environment. She transported me there, into the world of an ayahuasca retreat in the Amazon, like few other books on the subject. Thats why I highly recommend this book for those who want a real glimpse behind the scenes of an ayahuasca retreat.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-04-08
This work is an account of a dedicated shamanic students experiences with one aspect of shamanism. She does not purport to be an ayahuasquero. Rather, one of her stated purposes is to instill a respect for the traditions and knowledge of the plant masters. She does this extremely well. The writing is solid, at times delightful. One can tell that she was a teacher of English. The story itself read like an adventure novel, akin to those by Castaneda. The material was well researched (which, I suspect, is why she cited other authors). Highly recommended for those who seek to understand plant allies.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-03-24
In chapter 11 of her book, Wilcox opens with a quote from Carl Jung: "In psychology one possesses nothing unless one has experienced it in reality. Hence a purely intellectual insight is not enough, because one knows only the words and not the substance of the thing from the inside." Although Wilcox offers plenty of fascinating intellectual insights, this book is first and foremost a personal account of her experience with Ayahusaca, and it is the autobiographical nature of the book that makes it so engaging. Wilcox actually experienced "the substance of the thing from the inside" and then openly shared it with us in her book. If and until the rest of have the chance to experience the "Vine of the Soul" for ourselves, this book is the next best thing.
On: 2004-03-21
This book should have been titled "My Ayahuasca Vacation or how I spent two weeks in the Amazon so I could write this book". Frankly, her time would have been better spent back in the (remedial) writing class she attended. Since she spends so much time quoting the other ayuahuasca works why not read them?
Dont buy this book, if you are interested in ayahuasca buy the two easy reading books written by Lamb about Manuel Cordova-"Wizard of the Upper Amazon" and "Rio Tigre and Beyond" with forewords by Dr. Andrew Weil; these books are some of the best on the subject. Once you start to read them you will find they are almost impossible to to put down.
Ralph Metzners work "Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature" is another worthy but more scientific tome.
Better yet read Stanislav Grofs "The Adventure of Self Discovery" which deals with non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Leave Joan for her writing class...
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-10
Started reading, was fascinated & continued to last page. Cant always say that about most books. Joan Parisi Wilcox is to be appreciated for sharing her insights and experiences with the Vine on a retreat in the South American jungle.
On: 2004-01-07
If you are looking for a serious and intensely personal take on the magic of our universe, the plant world and indigenous deep spirituality then here is one of the best reads I have found. I have read many books on this and related subjects by strong and informative writers such as McKenna, Pinchbeck, Calvo, Luna, and Strassman, and I heartily recommend this warm and human exploration of the mystery of our universe and consciousness.
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