Can cannabis make you a kinder person? Can partaking in the plant increase your sensitivity to the people around you, and even the broader universe? Can it ever be too hot out for soup?
These big questions, and some even bigger, lie at the heart of “Higher Connections: Humor and Inspiration from a Certified Public Pothead” by Eric and Alexandra Right, a freewheeling meditation on the role cannabis can play in improving our lives. Told with humor, grace, and inspiring honesty, “Higher Connections” is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any current stoner or curious newcomer to the world of weed.
Published in July of 2022, “Higher Connections” quickly reached best-seller status, all the while defying easy classification. Skillfully walking the line between memoir, comedy, and self-help book, Eric and Alexandra guide the reader through Eric’s cannabis journey and elucidate how regular cannabis consumption improved Eric’s relationships with his family, helped his career, and improved his mental health. The recipient of the Literary Titan Silver Award, “Higher Connections” is chock-full of humorous anecdotes that may very well feel familiar to practicing potheads, mixed with inspiring tales of love and growth.
The authors and married couple Eric and Alexandra also dip into the more mystical, spiritual, and metaphysical connotations of cannabis, and offer a compelling metaphysical narrative on how Eric felt himself become a more empathetic person after becoming a regular cannabis consumer. With his third eye open, Eric might be able to see on a deeper level, and with “Higher Connections”, you can come along for every step of the ride. Leafly was given a copy so we could offer a tease of the trip inside, so let’s jump in.
Elevate with Eric & Alexandra
One of the main pleasures of reading “Higher Connections” is getting to know Eric and Alexandra Right, the fearless authors. Time and again they prove themselves clever and passionate narrators, mixing in quick jokes to lighten a difficult story of family miscommunication or end a hilarious scene with an unexpectedly profound turn.
“Whatever meaning you take from the experiences and observations in this book, just know that I will always be grateful for what they have done for our relationship and family.”
While Eric takes the bulk of the narration duties—he has a more direct relationship with cannabis than his wife—Alexandra frequently includes her thoughts and perspectives on the interactions, granting important insight into the way that cannabis can not only affect those of us who consume cannabis but also how it affects those closest to us.
Eric and Alexandra are unflinchingly honest in their depictions of their marital difficulties. Under the familiar strains of parenthood, financial obligations, and the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eric & Alexandra’s marriage suffered. The couple pulls no punches in how Eric’s past behavior exacerbated some of their marital difficulties, or how cannabis helped strengthen their marriage.
“We are friends again, which I really did not think would ever happen,” Alexandra writes. “Whatever meaning you take from the experiences and observations in this book, just know that I will always be grateful for what they have done for our relationship and family.”
That spirit of love permeates throughout Eric and Alexandra’s writing, and the reader is left with a carefully illustrated portrait of how cannabis can elevate and improve relationships between those who consume cannabis regularly, those who abstain entirely, and those who are just beginning their cannabis journeys.
To that end, while “Higher Connections” is a great gift for the cannabis enthusiast in your life, it is also a wonderful present for anyone who might be curious about weed but find themselves intimidated either by the persistent stigma around the plant or the complexity of cannabis culture. Eric and Alexandra make cannabis less intimidating while opening up the possibility that something more might be happening when we get high.
Smoke out your third eye
Like a mysterious edible that starts off slow and takes you to some wild places, the longer you sit with “Higher Connections,” the more interesting you’ll start to feel. The first act concerns a brief history of the plant and how the stigma around cannabis consumption came to be, before moving on to the personal experiences that motivated the couple to write “Higher Connections.”
I believe this allows my third eye to open (like a portable generator you have to crank up).
Eric illustrates a sequence of anecdotes of times he felt peculiarly empathetic to his wife, children, co-workers, and even strangers on the street. These humorous tales will ring familiar to anyone who knows their way around the plant and will spark curiosity in those who haven’t yet seen what cannabis has to offer. But the intrepid duo doesn’t end their observations there, Eric and Alexandra want to know why these experiences happen, not just that they do.
When they began to assemble these observations, they realized that something odd, or even occult, might be occurring. “While I believe that when I’m high, there is an increased level of connections in my brain that essentially allows my brain to speed up… I believe this allows my third eye to open (like a portable generator you have to crank up). The more active my brain is, the more energy is created which I believe opens my third eye.” writes Eric, explaining how he believes cannabis can propel more empathetic connections, and even provide insight into the nature of the metaphysical reality that lies beyond our perception.
If this claim strikes you as a bit incredulous, you aren’t alone. Both Eric and Alexandra approach their claims with a dose of skepticism and humility that keeps the more esoteric topics covered in the back half of best-selling “Higher Connections” grounded in their trademark humor.
While the couple offers several possible theories on the nature of souls, the existential meaning of death, the metaphysics of creation, and more, they never lose touch with the love and resilience that make their anecdotes and theories so compelling.
After reading “Higher Connections,” you’ll feel like you’ve met an awesome couple at a gathering, smoked some excellent pot with them, and got deep in conversation for a few hours. Readers new to cannabis and experienced consumers alike will find something to appreciate in the freewheeling spirit and unflinching honesty embodied in Eric and Alexandra’s tale and might even find some interesting questions to mull over in your next session. Clear a space on your smoke-spot table for “Higher Connections” now; you’ll be glad you did.
You can purchase the award-winning “Higher Connections: Humor and Inspiration from a Certified Public Pothead” by Eric and Alexandra Right” from Amazon and many other reputable booksellers. If you’re inspired by Eric and Alexandra’s mix of humor and profundity, you can check out their website, where you can stay up to date on any new ideas Eric might come up with. The authors have recently launched a podcast as well. Chock-full of the same insights present in their book, the “Higher Connections” podcast allows you to take Eric & Alexandra anywhere.
