Ep. 21: Persephone Quest

Ep. 22: Epilogue and Afterword

Last time, Exa traveled from Danbury to Brooklyn to scatter Lidiya's ashes. Along the way, she listened to a recording of Lidiya's final days: Chris's confessions, Lidiya's compassion, and the sacred mushroom ceremony that set him on a path toward healing. In this final episode, Chris wrestles with the hardest part of storytelling: the ending. Fourteen months after Lidiya's death, he's healthier, stronger—and suddenly unsure of everything. A consequential journey awaits. Unexpected messages from the past challenge what he thought he knew. And somewhere high above the clouds, dreams, symbols, and memories begin to swirl. This is the moment when Chris must decide what comes next—on the page, and in his life. Copyright 2025 John H. Wasson https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes [https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes]

Ep. 21: Persephone Quest

Last time, Chris returned from a walk still wrestling with the weight of Lidiya's story—and his own doubts about finishing her book. Over dinner, an unexpected memory surfaced: a long-buried misunderstanding between Lidiya and Exa. What unfolded was a reckoning years in the making—an apology, a confession, and a new path forward. But just when it seemed every tension had eased, a call from his estranged wife sent Chris reeling, leading him to a bridge high above the frigid Housatonic River as it thundered over the spillway of Stevenson Dam. In this episode, we reach the final chapter of Lidiya's life—and the end of the memoir. Ashes are scattered. Voices echo in memory. And the threads that once seemed loose and fraying are gently tied—into something whole. Copyright 2026 John H. Wasson https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes [https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes]

Ep. 20: Spillway

Last time, Lidiya journeyed through visions both luminous and unsettling, guided by Exa's steady presence. Amid hallucinatory forests, a ten-foot dewdrop, and the shifting edges of perception, she discovered clarity, a rekindled sense of wonder, and the quiet assurance that even in darkness, the mind—and the heart—can find their way home. In this episode, Chris begins to unravel. Haunted by regret, alcoholism, and loss, he reaches a point he's never dared go before. With Jefferson Airplane on the radio and the spillway roaring below him, a decision must be made: surrender to the dark—or find something still worth saving. Copyright 2025 John H. Wasson https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes [https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes]

Ep. 19: Dewdrop

Last time, Lidiya recalled how music lifted her out of despair—and into a dangerous, intoxicating affair. What began with a night at the Kennedy Center ended in deception, heartbreak, and the realization that she still hadn't healed. In this episode, that healing finally begins. With Exa by her side, Lidiya returns to the mushroom—not as a researcher, but as a seeker. What unfolds is part ceremony, part memory, part dream—and what it reveals may be her greatest legacy yet. Copyright 2025 John H. Wasson https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes [https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes]

Ep. 18: The Rite

Last time, Lidiya recalled the moment everything changed. A missed babysitter. A bouquet of daffodils. A fateful trip to Bethesda. In a single afternoon, she lost the people she loved most—and the evidence she and Craig had risked everything to protect. In this episode, we follow her into the long winter that followed. What begins with silence, snow, and Mahler's Fifth Symphony becomes something else entirely: a rite of passage and a return to the world. Copyright 2025 John H. Wasson https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes [https://hermagicmushroommemoir.com/episodes]