Dave Rebeck

Vine of the Soul Dave Rebeck

The aging President can't think clearly. The U. S.-Soviet stalemate is about to end. The free world hangs in the balance. It was 1994 when President Reagan announced his Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. But what if the affliction had manifested years before, during the Cold War negotiations? Vine of the Soul explores the possibility of a sitting President becoming mentally incapable of performing his duties, and the strategies that covert government agencies would consider in such a predicament. The solution? An exotic hallucinogen from the Amazon known as ayahuasca. Given in low doses, the drug seemed to counteract the deleterious effects of Alzheimer's disease. But Reagan was the " just say no" president- how could he be convinced to ingest an illegal drug? Vine of the Soul is an interplay of competing intelligence agencies and provides a fast paced tale of political values, pharmacology, rain forest ecology and the endless search for mind enhancing drugs. The synergy of the mysterious drug ayahuasca and the former President's battle with Alzheimer's disease create a fascinating study of American drug policies and the elusive search for artificial paradise. In addition, the involvement of a young family and their quest to cure their sick infant adds another dimension to the story line.