Coming Full Circle by Shannon Duncan combines an informative guide on using psychedelics for healing with a personal memoir of the author’s healing journey. The book aims to educate readers on the potential, limitations, and risks of using psychedelics to treat conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD while dispelling dangerous misinformation propagated by opportunists and unqualified individuals.
Summary Review of Coming Full Circle
Author: Alex Criddle is an independent researcher, writer, and editor. He has a Masters in Philosophy, where his thesis was on the nature of healing in psychedelic experiences. He’s worked as a researcher at a clinic doing ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and as a psychedelic integration guide. His writing, psychedelic philosophy course, and contact information can be found at https://alexcriddle.com
Coming Full Circle is divided into three main parts. The first gives the reader a foundation to understand psychedelic substances and how they might be used for healing. The second part is a detailed dive into the psychedelic healing process and integration. The third part is the culmination of Duncan’s own story and, as the title suggests, coming full circle back to the reader’s own hope and experience.
The first part introduces the reader to three broad categories Duncan will discuss relating to the use of psychedelics: recreational, expansive, and medicinal. He then guides the reader through basic terminology, the different psychedelic substances, and their potential uses. From there, the story turns to his own experiences and healing journey, which are masterfully woven in with the subject matter and further illustrate Shannon’s points. This weaving of his own narrative with the broader subject of using psychedelics as medicine is an absolute strength of this book. His vulnerability and descriptions of his own life and psychedelic experiences really help the reader understand the impact these experiences can have on individuals. This first part helps build a framework for authentic growth and healing.
The second part focuses on the details of the actual healing process. Duncan guides the reader through his own experiences preparing for the healing journey and the major aspects of preparation, including a support system, setting intentions for the healing work, set and setting, preparing your body and mind, and finding a suitable individual for the work. This is one of the few books that takes the perspective of the one seeking a healing experience and what preparation for an individual who may not be well-versed in psychotherapeutic culture might look like. This part helps an individual learn to navigate the ever-expanding realm of psychedelic gurus so that they might find the most suitable facilitator for their own personal healing journey.
The third and final section provides a culmination of Shannon’s own story and gives a vivid description of what life in the midst of healing journeys looks like.
Ultimately the power of this book lies in Shannon’s openness to sharing his vast experiences with these medicinal substances and his ability to extrapolate from his own experience what a reader might want to know about approaching or embarking on their own healing journey using these medicines. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is just beginning their healing journey or interested in what that journey might look like for themselves, anyone in need of guidance for navigating their own experiences or finding someone to help them do so, and anyone who is wanting to become or is a facilitator in this space. Shannon’s book provides incredible insights into what might be running through someone’s mind as they approach this space.
Publisher Summary
“Coming Full Circle is a detailed, informative guide on using psychedelics to heal that is intertwined with a deeply personal memoir of the authors own journey of healing. It will empower its readers with a greater understanding of the true potential, limitations, risks, and nuances to the process of using psychedelics to heal trauma. With each passing year, new evidence of the immense healing potential psychedelics offer for anxiety, depression, addiction, PTSD, and more emerge from credible studies and research groups. As the excitement grows, so too does the often dangerous misinformation generated by profiteers and pseudo experts. A fierce protector of those who are utilizing psychedelics as a way to heal their emotional wounds and trauma, Shannon Duncan knows firsthand the courage, determination, and vulnerability required to approach emotional healing in this specialized way.”