Ordinary Unhappiness UNLOCKED: 103: Ayahuasca and Climate Grief feat. Sarah Miller
Nov 15, 2025
In this insightful conversation, Sarah Miller, a talented writer from Nevada City, delves into her essay, "Pirates of the Ayahuasca." She shares her transformative and harrowing journey from wildfire-ravaged California to the Peruvian Amazon, exploring themes of climate grief and the pressures of psychedelic tourism. Sarah vividly recounts intense visions and emotional struggles during ayahuasca ceremonies while reflecting on the ethics of Westerners seeking indigenous healing traditions. The discussion opens up a critique of capitalism in the wellness industry, leaving listeners with much to ponder.
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Trip Born From Climate Grief
- Sarah Miller traveled to Peru after wildfire seasons and climate grief made her suicidal and desperate for help.
- She went to an ayahuasca center seeking a way to want to be alive again and to process climate-related despair.
When The Sun Vanishes, Mindset Shifts
- The disappearance of the sun generated a primal, apocalyptic feeling that reshaped Sarah's sense of reality.
- Such collective, sensory events can provoke existential reckoning and prompt people to seek radical remedies.
Structure Of An Ayahuasca Ceremony
- Ayahuasca ceremonies happen in a maloca with participants in a circle while shamans sing icaros to 'clean' issues.
- Participants list problems in short facilitator sessions and the shamans tailor songs believed to address those themes.
