Ego Trip: Psychedelic Toads, a Trail of Deaths, and the Guru Who Peddled Transcendence By Kimon de Greef

Kimon de Greef investigates the movement around Sonoran Desert toad secretions and the ceremonies promoted by Mexican doctor Octavio Rettig. His reporting examines claims of healing and ancestral authenticity alongside accounts of abuse, deaths and commercial ambition.

The book also follows the pressures on collectors and the animals themselves. It is investigative nonfiction about a controversial psychedelic movement, not a guide to dosing or an endorsement of its safety, claimed Indigenous lineage or therapeutic promises.