Eighteen-year-old Tad considers himself a chameleon. While in high school he assumes “the appearance but not the reality” of various school groups, such as dopers and jocks. Although Tad blends exceptionally well as a good student, graduating valedictorian in his class, he convinces his proud parents to let him enjoy his time off, instead of working a summer job before attending UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). However, it is the 1960s in Southern California – a time and place in history of the psychedelic revolution, and unbeknownst to his parents, Tad has a summer project in mind: experimenting with LSD (a.k.a. acid).
There are many memoirs written on the LSD experience, most notably Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, and the originator himself – Albert Hoffman, but very few are works of fiction. TEN DREAMS FROM HEAVEN fits in the latter category with one exception. Although it is written in first person and presented as a memoir, Sedgwick laces his debut novel with historical references to the time period, such as the Kaleidoscope (a psychedelic rock venue in Hollywood, California), Owsley Stanley (the LSD “underground” chemist), and musical groups/individuals (Canned Heat, Janis Joplan, and Jimi Hendrix). He also includes historic references to the Chumash Indians.
Tad is not the only one dropping acid. He has a handful of friends who are in it for the experience. However, Tad’s interest is in creating a “controlled” world to help him answer questions about God and reality. While each chapter vividly describes his bizarre experiences (dreams) to attain his perfect world, Sedgwick constructs a balance in Tad’s memoir by including his friend’s experiences and offsetting some of the dysphoric scenes with picturesque descriptions of the Malibu area.
Sedgwick’s attention to detail tightly woven with cultural storytelling makes TEN DREAMS FROM HEAVEN not only the latest read on the psychedelic revolution, but also an upcoming literary classic.
Reviewed by Anita Lock for IndieReader.