Psychedelics

Bay Area author William Brewer’s debut novel “The Red Arrow” is the raw, tumultuous and gripping journey of a man plagued by suicidal depression and self deprecation who finds hope and healing in psychedelic mushroom treatment.

For all the mythologizing and storytelling of artists and addicts, it will end in naught but death — so say The Flaming Lips.

“Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass,” written by award-winning playwright Lynne Kaufman, centers on Richard Alpert, who eventually took on the name Ram Dass as part of a spiritual journey.