Rebecca Huntley will be in conversation with Karen Middleton on Rebecca's new book Sassafras. A Memoir of Love, Loss and MDMA Therapy.

Rebecca Huntley didn’t know what ailed her, but she knew it was embedded deep within her mind – and her past. Sassafras is the utterly compelling story of her quest to overcome intergenerational trauma and trauma in her own life.When you’ve experienced trauma and conventional treatments have failed, where do you turn?

After unsuccessfully trying traditional therapy, renowned author and social researcher Rebecca Huntley chose an unconventional path to healing: MDMA.The drug MDMA is made from the root of the sassafras tree. It is known as a party drug, taken to have a good time, to dance, to shed inhibitions. It has also, since early 2023, been authorised in Australia for use in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

For those with PTSD, the goal is not to have a good time and dance: it is to find a way forward in their lives after trauma, and to find their way back to the person they were before they were traumatised. For Rebecca, this meant reconciling with the violence, trauma, death and despair that had taken root in her life. It also meant stopping a crushing cycle of intergenerational trauma for the sake of her children.

She had three sessions of MDMA therapy, delivered by an underground healer. The treatment changed her life, her view of the world and the way she saw the past, present and future. It led to greater wisdom, compassion and awareness of the connections between humans and the natural world.

Sassafras is the story of a woman determined to confront her traumatic past head on. In doing so she discovered something that could be of great benefit to us all.

Dr Rebecca Huntley is one of Australians foremost researchers on social trends. She is the author of numerous books including How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way that Makes a Difference. She writes regularly for The Monthly, Australian Traveller Magazine, The Guardian and the SMH. She is a Fellow of the Women Leadership Institute of Australia and of The Research Society.

Karen Middleton is the Guardian Australia's political editor and a regular media commentator. Her first book, An Unwinnable War - Australia in Afghanistan was published in 2011 and her second Albanese - Telling it Straight in 2016. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Canberra in 2020.

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

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