Sisters of the Extreme : Women Writing on the Drug Experience: Charlotte Brontë, Louisa May Alcott, Anaïs Nin, Maya Angelou, Billie Holiday, Nina Hagen, Diane Di Prima, Carrie Fisher, and Many Others

• An anthology of writings by some of the most influential women in history on the often misunderstood and misrepresented female drug experience. • With great honesty, bravery, and frankness, women from diverse backgrounds write about their drug experiences. Women have been experimenting with drugs since prehistoric times, and yet published accounts of their views on the drug experience have been relegated to either antiseptic sociological studies or sensationalized stories splashed across the tabloids. The media has given us an enduring, but inaccurate, stereotype of a female drug user: passive, addicted, exploited, degraded, promiscuous. But the selections in this anthology--penned by such famous names as Billie Holiday, Anais Nin, Maya Angelou, and Carrie Fisher--show us that the real experiences of women are anything but stereotypical. Sisters of the Extreme provides us with writings by women from diverse occupations and backgrounds, from prostitute to physician, who through their use of drugs dared cross the boundaries set by society--often doing so with the hope of expanding themselves and their vision of the world. Whether with LSD, peyote, cocaine, heroine, MDMA, or marijuana, these women have sought to reach, through their experimentation, other levels of consciousness. Sometimes their quests have brought unexpected rewards, other times great suffering and misfortune. But wherever their trips have left them, these women have lived courageously--if sometimes dangerously--and written about their journeys eloquently Women's Studies/Psychedelics Cover 1 Title Page 3 Dedication 4 Table of Contents 5 Foreword 9 Preface 11 Introduction 15 Chapter 1: Images of Women and Drugs in Myth and History 18 Greece and Crete 18 Egypt 22 Asia Minor and India 24 Europe 26 NonWestern Cultures 27 Chapter 2: Opium and the Victorian Imagination 33 Mary “Perdita” Robinson 40 Elizabeth Barrett Browning 41 George Sand 45 Margaret Fuller 48 Maria White Lowell 51 Charlotte Brontë 52 Elizabeth Siddal 56 Louisa May Alcott 58 The Hookah 67 Jane Addams 68 Sarah Bernhardt 68 Santa Louise Anderson 71 The Pipe and the Needle 74 Mary C. Hungerford 76 Charlotte Riddell 79 Patent Medicines 81 Coca Wine and Cocaine 82 Chapter 3: Expatriates and Vagabonds 84 Isabelle Eberhardt 89 Chicago May 92 Edith Wharton 93 Edith Blinn’s 96 Mabel Dodge Luhan 97 Hopheads, Snowbirds, and Vipers in Song 104 White Lady 106 Mina Loy 107 Baroness Else von Freytag-Loringhoven 108 Anita Berber 109 Caresse Crosby 110 O. W. 113 The War on Drugs 116 Box-Car Bertha 117 Emily Hahn 119 Chapter 4: Mainline Ladies 129 Florrie Fisher 132 Billie Holiday 140 Janet Clark 146 Barbara Quinn 152 Edith Piaf 155 Françoise Sagan 156 Maya Angelou 158 Anna Kavan 160 Chapter 5: Psychedelic Pioneers 165 María Sabina 169 Valentina Wasson 171 Masha Wasson Britten 175 Alice B. Toklas 177 Enid Blyton 178 Anaïs Nin 179 Laura Huxley 185 Harriette Frances 187 Constance A. Newland 190 Margaret Mead 194 Chapter 6: Beats and Hippies 197 Bonnie Frazer [Bremser] 201 Ellen Sander 203 Kay Johnson 207 Diane di Prima 208 Lenore Kandel 214 Garnet Brennan 217 Linda Rosenkrantz 221 Sharon Rudahl 225 Anita Hoffman 230 Elizabeth Gips 235 Rosemary Woodruff Leary 240 Mary Woronov 242 Underground Comics 245 Chapter 7: Choosers and Abusers 250 Anne Waldman 253 Marlene Dobkin de Rios 256 Barbara Myerhoff 259 Sara Davidson 261 Susan Nadler 263 Lorna Dee Cervantes 268 Marcia Moore 268 Susan Sontag 272 Jeannine Parvati 273 Carrie Fisher 275 Chapter 8: Shaman Women at the End of the Millennium 279 Susan Gordon Lydon 283 Adele Getty 288 Requa Tolbert 292 Gracie 294 Ann Shulgin 296 Kalimá 301 Nina Hagen 303 India Bonham 305 Alice Dee 307 Darby Romeo 309 Jennifer Joseph 312 Adeena Karasick 314 Iris Berry 315 Kathleen Harrison 316 Nina Graboi 319 Simone Garrigues 320 Bibliography 322 Copyright & Permissions 4 Backcover 330 Women's,Studies;,Psychedelics Women's Studies,Psychedelics

• An Anthology Of Writings By Some Of The Most Influential Women In History On The Often Misunderstood And Misrepresented Female Drug Experience.

• With Great Honesty, Bravery, And Frankness, Women From Diverse Backgrounds Write About Their Drug Experiences.

women Have Been Experimenting With Drugs Since Prehistoric Times, And Yet Published Accounts Of Their Views On The Drug Experience Have Been Relegated To Either Antiseptic Sociological Studies Or Sensationalized Stories Splashed Across The Tabloids. The Media Has Given Us An Enduring, But Inaccurate, Stereotype Of A Female Drug User: Passive, Addicted, Exploited, Degraded, Promiscuous. But The Selections In This Anthology--penned By Such Famous Names As Billie Holiday, Anais Nin, Maya Angelou, And Carrie Fisher--show Us That The Real Experiences Of Women Are Anything But Stereotypical.

sisters Of The Extreme Provides Us With Writings By Women From Diverse Occupations And Backgrounds, From Prostitute To Physician, Who Through Their Use Of Drugs Dared Cross The Boundaries Set By Society--often Doing So With The Hope Of Expanding Themselves And Their Vision Of The World. Whether With Lsd, Peyote, Cocaine, Heroine, Mdma, Or Marijuana, These Women Have Sought To Reach, Through Their Experimentation, Other Levels Of Consciousness. Sometimes Their Quests Have Brought Unexpected Rewards, Other Times Great Suffering And Misfortune. But Wherever Their Trips Have Left Them, These Women Have Lived Courageously--if Sometimes Dangerously--and Written About Their Journeys Eloquently.

cynthia Palmer And Michael Horowitz Are The Directors And Founders Of The Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library In San Francisco, And Coeditors Of Aldous Huxley's moksha. Mr. Horowitz Is Proprietor Of Flashback Books In Petaluma, California, Where Both Authors Reside.

cape Times

it Is Scholarly Yet Not Academic, Exhaustively Researched, And Contains An Indispensable Bibliography. The Spectrum Of Substances Documented Is Comprehensive. For The Adolescent, The General Reader, The Psychonaut, The Literary/social Historian, Or The Lone Wolf Looking To Find A Home On Mars, Sisters Of The Extreme Is An Indispensable And Insirational Work.

"Sisters of the Extreme captures the drug experiences of women from diverse times, social backgrounds, and professions in memoir, fiction, poetry, song, and art. From the mythic associations of ancient history and the rituals of indigenous peoples, through the rampant opiate intoxication of the Victorian era, to the junkies, psychedelic pioneers, anthropologists, and ravers of the late twentieth century, the selections in this book show us that the real experiences of women are far more compelling than antiseptic sociological studies or sensationalized tabloid accounts." "Some of the contributors are after visions, revelations, and the healing powers of sacred plants while others are seekers of oblivion--addicts and abusers. Whether describing the effects of opium, LSD, peyote, mushrooms, anahuasca, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, or marijuana, these women write about their experiences with power and eloquence. Through their experiments with drugs, they cross the boundaries set up by society: sometimes to escape, sometimes to search for deeper meaning, but always with a sense of adventure. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET • An anthology of writings by some of the most influential women in history on the often misunderstood and misrepresented female drug experience.• With great honesty, bravery, and frankness, women from diverse backgrounds write about their drug experiences.Women have been experimenting with drugs since prehistoric times, and yet published accounts of their views on the drug experience have been relegated to either antiseptic sociological studies or sensationalized stories splashed across the tabloids. The media has given us an enduring, but inaccurate, stereotype of a female drug user: passive, addicted, exploited, degraded, promiscuous. But the selections in this anthology--penned by such famous names as Billie Holiday, Anais Nin, Maya Angelou, and Carrie Fisher--show us that the real experiences of women are anything but stereotypical. __Sisters of the Extreme__ Sisters of the Extreme provides us with the eloquent writings of women who experimented with drugs. Sometimes their quests brought unexpected rewards, sometimes suffering. The selections in this anthology show that the psychedelic experiences of women have been anything but stereotypical