This post certainly doesn't oversell the difficulty of getting a permit to raft it. Your options are basically:

1) Enter a lottery to do it yourself, with about a 1% chance of getting in

2) Try and get on a paid guided trip (there are only 4 operators), that are typically booked out 3+ years in advance, and cost ~$4k+

3) Try and raft it "outside of season" (spring/fall) when conditions could well be difficult/impossible/dangerous/miserable.

By all accounts, it's worth it. I remember reading a book by a raft guide who had run an operation on the Salmon River (the other big multi-day remote whitewater rafting destination in Idaho) for decades, and the instant he had the opportunity to buy out another guide with a permit on the Selway, he sold his Salmon operation without hesitation.

I haven't had the chance to do a Selway trip yet (because of the above factors), but I've camped at both where the author put in, and took out. Both are very nice, beautiful places to camp. We camped at Race Creek a few years back, and my kids still talk about it like it was the best camping experience of their lives.

Like the author, I can whooly recommend the value of wilderness in improving your mental state, adding clarity to your life and just generally making you a better person.

I think we're designed for some time in the woods or desert or jungle or tundra away from humanity, and I'd encourage you all to seek it out.