The Psychedelic Experience in 'We Were the Universe'

Review of We Were the Universe (2024) by Kimberly King Parsons

In her new novel We Were the Universe (2024), Kimberly King Parsons renders the psychedelic experience whimsical, feral and queer.

Parsons’ narrator Kit, a young Texas mother coping with the death of her sister, insists LSD prepared her for childbirth. “I’m so glad I’ve done acid,” she thinks. “Nothing prepares you for childbirth more. The violent weirdness, how LSD lasts and lasts. You’re done with it long before it’s done with you. Just like childbirth.” Startling comparisons such as Parsons’ would never show up on Erowid or Reddit. How to Change Your Mind neglected the topic of childbirth, even though there’s evidence for feminine uses of psychedelics going back thousands of years. Peyote is still used today to aid childbirth, induce lactation, and ease the discomfort of menopause.

Parsons’ narrator continues, “Psychedelics prepare you for the craziest thing imaginable on this earth: a new human tunneling through an older human’s body. Somehow, my extensive recreational drug use led …