The New York Times Book Review named
How to Change Your Mind one of the best books of 2018. Kevin Canfield of the
San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "In 'How to Change Your Mind', Pollan explores the circuitous history of these often-misunderstood substances, and reports on the clinical trials that suggest psychedelics can help with depression, addiction and the angst that accompanies terminal illnesses. He does so in the breezy prose that has turned his previous booksthese include ''
The Omnivore's Dilemma and Cooked'', the inspiration for his winning Netflix documentaries of the same nameinto bestsellers."
Jacob Sullum of the libertarian magazine
Reason gave the book a generally positive review, but faulted Pollan for criticizing
Timothy Leary's self-promotion without allocating blame to the politicians and journalists who shut down the promising scientific study of psychedelics. Writing in
New York magazine, conservative journalist
Andrew Sullivan praised
How to Change Your Mind as "astounding."
How to Change Your Mind received two positive reviews from
Vox.
Ezra Klein described it as "one of the most mind-expanding books I have read this year."
Sean Illing said that Pollan "describe[s] what it's like to take psychedelics. But beyond that, he also walks the reader through the history of these drugs and surveys the latest research into their therapeutic potential. It's a sprawling book that is likely to change how you think not just about psychedelic drugs but also about the human mind." Mark Rozzo reviewed
How to Change Your Mind in
Columbia magazine. He wrote that the book "offers a convincingly grown-up case for the potential of drugs that, having survived decades of vilification, now seem poised to revolutionize several fields, from mental health to neuroscience."
Oliver Burkeman wrote of the book in
The Guardian: "
How to Change Your Mind is Pollan's sweeping and often thrilling chronicle of the history of psychedelics, their brief modern ascendancy and suppression, their renaissance and possible future, all interwoven with a self-deprecating travelogue of his own cautious but ultimately transformative adventures as a middle-aged psychedelic novice." Drew Gwilliams reviewed the book for the scientific journal
Chemistry World. He called it "a fascinating history of psychedelic drugs" and said "Pollan approaches the topic with a combination of intelligent curiosity and skepticism, deftly avoiding controversial debates while seeking clarity and comprehension." == Television adaptation ==