EVOLUTION ROAD
Elizabeth Stacey frames a cultural history of Esalen Institute – from Mad Men stereotypes to the survival of bodily death – with a clear-eyed memoir of the six years she spent working at the fabled Big Sur center for human potential on California's central coast.
In the words of Michael Murphy, Esalen's co-founder, Stacey had "been around the block" when it came to exploring spiritual traditions and help-yourself psychology. She thought she'd escaped a stress-filled life in Los Angeles and landed a job in paradise; instead, she was plunged into the midst of a community in conflict over whether a vision rooted in the 1960s or one aimed at the 21st century would prevail.
In her interactions with players from both camps, Stacey's assumptions shift and change as she encounters seminal figures of past and present and traces human relationships with the land from early settlers to hippies to Silicon Valley leaders. Her passion for figuring out the nature of reality leads to the realization that the vision behind Esalen is one not widely shared with the thousands who visit each year: its self-appointed role as helpmate within the evolutionary flow of life on earth.
After a tumultuous 50th anniversary celebration, replete with celebrities like Joan Baez and Marianne Williamson, Stacey almost got fired. On the rebound she resolved to find out why the Esalen experiment has a legendary influence that reverberates around the globe. EVOLUTION ROAD examines the human potential movement with wry humor and curiosity about its purpose. The story follows Stacey's evolving awareness of how beholden she was to the systems that dominate and divide American society – the shiny, competitive, high-growth, well-organized presentation of "success." When the Sixties version of Esalen succumbed to summer wildfires and winter storms, Stacey must decide whether she will live out its values of equality and community.
Estimated publication date: 2025