''Soul Rush: The Odyssey of a Young Woman of the '70s'' is a 1978

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

written by Sophia Collier. The book describes the author's personal spiritual development, use of drugs and cultivating of Eastern spiritual practices. After going on a spiritual journey, Collier returned home to write the book in 1976, and sold it at the age of nineteen. The book was published by William Morrow & Co.

Synopsis

In the book, Collier describes her experiences with

recreational drug use Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

, including

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

, and then her introduction to Eastern spirituality through life on an

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...

, then moved to live first on a commune and later a

Divine Light Mission The Divine Light Mission (''Divya Sandesh Parishad''; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the Western world, West under the leadership ...

Techniques of Knowledge Knowledge is a term used by Shri Hans Ji Maharaj (Hans Rawat) to denote a formulation of four specific techniques that were imparted in a process of initiation.Maharaj, Shri Hans Ji, ''Hans Yog Prakash'' Publisher unknown. 1936. ''“Without the ...

of Guru Maharaj ji (also known as Prem Rawat) and her experiences in the organization. Years later, in an interview published in 2001 in ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' magazine, Collier stated that "At the ashram, we did things like staying up all night and meditating, things that taught us how to focus our minds". Skills that she still applies in stressful business situations, and that "drawing on those experiences has definitely helped me maintain perspective."

Reception

''Fast Company'' magazine characterized the work as a "precocious autobiography." In the article, Ron Lieber wrote that the work "..reads like a diary of the brainy, excruciatingly self-aware girl that she was." Lieber went on to note that though an experience in an ashram might not always be as applicable as an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

, the spiritual experiences described by Collier in her autobiography helped her notice industry gaps and utilize a

competitive advantage In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skille ...

. Daniel Cuff described the work in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as "a memoir of growing up." According to ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', the book became a Book-of-the-Month-Club selection soon after it was published.

Synopsis

Reception

References

Further reading