The Call of the Trance

the long version

"The Call of the Trance is a magnificent book that takes us to the unchartered frontiers of the forbidden. From initiation ceremonies to crises of hysteria, from suicide attempts to the ecstasies of witches, Catherine Clément explores in simple but scholarly terms the responses that civilizations have offered to the humanistic need for escape from the body. These 'eclipses' from life and reality, pursued by people across cultures, are elusive and invariably inexpressible"--Jacket.