Acid Revival: The Psychedelic Renaissance and the Quest for Medical Legitimacy

A book examining how the American medical establishment has historically pathologized certain forms of womanhood, particularly through the diagnosis of hysteria. The author traces the evolution of hysteria from a common medical diagnosis in the 19th century to its eventual removal from the DSM, arguing that changes in medical knowledge were shaped by social movements, including feminism, and shifts in professional authority. The work shows how contested diagnoses reflect broader cultural anxieties about gender and power.

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Danielle Giffort Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 2020. 256pp. $100 (cloth) $25 (paper). ISBN: 978-1-5179-0671-9 (cloth), 978-1-5179-0672-6 (paper)