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

“Right up until the end, this book felt like one of those fancy cocktails: different liquors occupying different layers, each with its own distinctive color. . . . The book is about wending one's way in and out of intoxicating substances in a noble but messy effort to discover some universal truth.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“The key figure in this ‘blend of memoir and biography’ is Lattin, whose narrative arc might be the strangest. He somehow balanced his religion reportage with a descent into cocaine addiction and alcoholism, and he sees this book as a crucial element in his ongoing sobriety. . . . ‘One of the things I learned from AA is that many of us drink in an effort to quench a religious thirst,’ he writes. ‘It’s how we get some temporary relief from the spiritual emptiness.’”—Kirkus Reviews

“’Distilled Spirits’ is quite a story. Part group biography, part memoir, Lattin details the somewhat unlikely friendship between Aldous Huxley, whose books ‘Brave New World’ and ‘The Doors of Perception’ are still widely read, and Gerald Heard, whose more than three dozen books are unknown outside philosophy circles . . . Lattin traces the influences Heard, Huxley and Bill Wilson had on the American religious landscape and, eventually, on Lattin himself.”—Kimberly Winston Religion News Service

“It is difficult for me to hide my enthusiasm for this book. It is a fascinating biography/memoir with an abundance of heart—courageously honest, philosophically nuanced, and peppered with the most delightful sense of humor. It’s easy to be romantic about drugs and mysticism—tougher to be both morally rigorous AND honestly ecstatic about the real openings they offer. I’m grateful that Lattin can hold this tension while also weaving a mesmerizing story.”—Jeffrey Kripal, author of Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion

“This extraordinary book blends careful historical research with rich personal reflections. Lattin describes the intersecting lives and lasting influence of three men who helped transform American spirituality. Distilled Spirits offers readers a rare opportunity to gain both knowledge and wisdom.”—Marion S. Goldman, author of The American Soul Rush

“This remarkable book deserves the widest readership it can get, for more clearly than any other book I know it shows the depth to which the human spirit can descend and still rebound. Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard were close friends and my most important mentors, and I spent one memorable afternoon with Bill Wilson. Don Lattin's astonishing book brings their life stories alive. It is carefully researched and disarmingly honest.”—Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions

"The painful journey from addiction, to relapse, to recovery has become the Pilgrim's Progress of our era. In this riveting fusion of memoir and tripartite biography, the noted religion reporter Don Lattin aligns his own pilgrimage to sobriety with the inspiration offered by three transformative twentieth-century figures who also found spiritual value as the basis for corrective action."—Kevin Starr, University Professor, University of Southern California

“An eye opening and mind expanding read. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is interested in consciousness, spiritual exploration, recovery and awakenings. Don is a masterful story teller and writer. He weaves together the lives of these men in way that is intriguing and wise. Read it, then start a revolution!”—Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx

"Don Lattin knows how to tell a ripping good story, and there are many in this book. The scene of Lattin interviewing the Pope as their plane lands in Miami is alone worth the price of admission. Add to that some fascinating stories about Aldous Huxley and Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and you’ve got yourself a great read. There is some irony in the fact that Don Lattin was doing drugs and drinking heavily while reporting on religion for the San Francisco Chronicle. But it all comes together in this book, which explores the connections between the spiritual search and the substances that produce altered states of consciousness. It’s a trip, as they used to say, and a great read."—Wes ‘Scoop’ Nisker, Buddhist teacher, performer and author of Essential Crazy Wisdom