Review Calls ‘Radical Return’ Boldly Unconventional

BookLife Reviews extolls Radical Return: Reclaiming My Body Through Coffee, Drugs, Dance, and Psychoanalysis as a “vulnerable, boldly unconventional account of transforming trauma into healing.” Congratulations to author Dr. Natalie R. Cohen!

The reviewer writes: Psychologist Cohen’s searching debut memoir marks her effort to reclaim a body shaped by adolescent substance use, sexual violence, reproductive loss, family estrangement, and betrayals within psychoanalytic institutions. Returning to psychoanalytic training after a long hiatus, she experiments with MDMA, ketamine, ayahuasca, psilocybin, breathwork, meditation, and other consciousness-altering practices, then translates those experiences into choreographed “integration dances.” … Whether addressing oppressive power dynamics in the psychoanalytic field, drawing parallels between nature and emotional reflection, or processing childhood memories recovered through a psilocybin-assisted journey, Cohen offers readers an intimate record of one practitioner’s return to voice, pleasure, and professional purpose.

Read the full review here.