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The untold story of the beatnik, psychonaut and fugitive who tested the limits of her mind to bring psychedelics into the mainstream - until her audacious exploits forced her into the shadows
A Guardian Pick for ‘Best Memoirs and Biographies of 2025’
A New York Times Book Review Podcast’s ‘Books We’re Excited About in Early 2025’
Rosemary Woodruff Leary has been known only as the wife of Timothy Leary, the Harvard professor-turned-psychedelic high priest, whose jailbreak captivated the counterculture and whose life on the run with Rosemary inflamed the U.S. government. But Rosemary was more than a mere accessory. She was a beatnik, a psychonaut and a true believer who tested the limits of her mind and the expectations for women of her time.
Long overlooked by those who have venerated her husband, Rosemary spent her life on the forefront of the counterculture, working with Leary on his books and speeches, sewing his clothing and shaping – for better and for worse – the media’s narrative about LSD. Ultimately, Rosemary sacrificed everything for the safety of her fellow psychedelic pioneers and the preservation of her husband’s legacy.
Drawing from a wealth of interviews, diaries, archives and unpublished sources, Susannah Cahalan writes the definitive portrait of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, reclaiming her narrative and her voice from those who dismissed her. Page-turning, revelatory and utterly compelling, The Acid Queen shines an overdue spotlight on a pioneering psychedelic seeker.
“Thrilling. Cahalan tells an incredible story”
telegraph
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“Sharp and satiric … A fond, imaginatively researched tribute to [a] free, forever-seeking spirit”
guardian
“A colourful story, involving love triangles, drug busts and the dramatic jailbreak of Leary … well researched”
financial Times
“[Rosemary Woodruff’s] story is skilfully told in Susannah Cahalan’s The Acid Queen. Woodruff’s unusual life – which took in communes, drugs, criminal cartels and breaking her husband out of prison – proves more than worthy of posthumous attention”
‘the Best Memoirs And Biographies Of 2025’
guardian
“The story of a woman who embodied an era of freedom, experimentation and psychedelic adventure. Meticulously reported and beautifully crafted”
Susan Orlean, Author Of The Orchid Thief
Susannah Cahalan
Susannah Cahalan is a number one New York Times bestselling author, journalist and public speaker. Her first book, Brain on Fire, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her second book, The Great Pretender, was shortlisted for the Royal Society’s 2020 Science Book Prize. She lives in New Jersey with her family.
susannahcahalan.com | @suscahalan