The Acid Queen - The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary

The untold story of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, who played a critical role in bringing psychedelics into the mainstream, until her audacious exploits forced her into the shadows--from the #1 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 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 Drawing from a wealth of interviews, diaries, archives, and unpublished sources, Susannah Cahalan writes the definitive portrait of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, reclaiming her narrative and her voice from those who dismissed her.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,

About the author

Susannah Cahalan is a #1 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.

Product details

• Authors: Susannah Cahalan, Cahalan Susannah
• Publisher: Viking USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 22.04.2025
• EAN: 9780593490051
• ISBN: 978-0-593-49005-1
• No. of pages: 384
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 236 mm x 33 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women, Biography: general, Social & cultural history, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Science & Technology, HISTORY / Women, Social and cultural history, Gender studies: women, Biography: science, technology & medicine, Gender studies: women and girls, Biography: science, technology and medicine