I Took a Lethal Dose of Herbs
Yvette Granata / / 2023
A hybrid VR documentary about postpartum psychosis and DIY abortion told through the hallucinatory experience of a former anti-abortion activist – based on a true story from an anonymous woman posting on Reddit.
Based on a series of Reddit posts from 2017-2020, I Took a Lethal Dose of Herbs is an interactive VR film centered on an anonymous woman’s experience with a failed DIY herbal abortion and postpartum psychosis. We take an anxious journey with the protagonist as she reveals her story through hallucinations and flashbacks. A former evangelical activist who once spent her weekends praying outside of abortion clinics, her life takes a turn after the birth of her first child. She suffers a psychotic break and believes her baby is a demon. We travel with her through glitchy hallucinations of hell and demon babies. After recovering, she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant again and accidentally poisons herself during a DIY herbal abortion. Ultimately she must choose between motherhood, her life, and her sanity.