Venus Juice: When I Tried to Live in LA (Unabridged‪)‬

With his memoir, Venus Juice, author and mystic Luke Simon takes listeners on a neo-nostalgic trip into the LA wellness scene of the late 2010s, a land of luxury juice, natural healing, and digital hookups. Looking for love, creativity, and filled with questions about how to make it as an Instagram healer, on the surface, the City of Angels seems to hold the keys to all that he seeks - but is everything what it seems?

Known among wellness circles as a cofounder of the popular Maha Rose Center for the Healing Arts in Brooklyn, Simon’s story takes in themes of friendship, celebrity, queer romance, and the social media hustle that has come to color our experiences of love and creativity in the new millennium. From $29 tonics, to a trip to New Age church, to a series of unforgettable dates that only end in self-doubt, Venus Juice is part love letter, part break-up Post-it with a scene too easily spooked by its own shadow.

Known for his humorous IG memes and Sedaris-esque worldview, the book is part incisive portrait and part loving parody of a city - and a culture - where a glossy facade often conceals darker hidden truths. Populated with a colorful cast of coaches, artists, hunks, healers, influencers, nighttime flowers, and health food connoisseurs, at the center of it all, we find one soul learning the meaning of self-love in our increasingly divided and digitized world.

“Luke Simon has written a queer romance for the now age! Any spiritual seeker who has ever questioned the nature of love, healing and success in the age of IG will relate to this book. It’s hilarious, deep, and real.” (Sah D'Simone, author of Spiritually Sassy)

“Luke's heartwarmingly honest depiction of the ups and downs of modern day spirituality from the queer perspective is so needed! Stripping down the facade and superficiality within L.A.'s spiritual scene, Venus Juice is a loving reminder that what we are truly searching for is ourselves.” (Bunny Michael)

“Luke’s debut is both inspired and inspiring. More than a memoir, it’s a poetic manifesto that isn’t afraid to pine for love. Not the easy love and light that so many new-age gurus sell, the tough as nails, honest and unconditional love that only comes from years of self inquiry and courageous honesty. So much more than just a send up of healer culture, Luke inquires deeply into the woundedness that lies at the heart of this niche LA lifestyle. Venus Juice is a robust celebration of vulnerability that reveals the author’s literary talent is as huge as his heart.” (Brandon Alter, cohost of The Spiritual Gayz)