Rating: 
Summary: Young and self-absorbed in America...
Review: Prozac Nation, an auto-biographical tale of a young woman's struggle with depression, was a strange read indeed. Initially upon finishing the book, I hated it. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. I came to realize that it was not the book itself which I could not stand, but the whiny, self-absorbed snot who wrote it. Her name is Elizabeth Wurtzel. She rambles on endlessly about how sad her life is, how unloved she feels, how terrible it is to be a young, beautiful Ivy-League student. Is the reader supposed to feel sorry for her? I don't think so - I think we're supposed to feel absolutely disgusted by how pathetic this poet/nymph would have people think she feels. It worked. Thanks for not killing yourself, Elizabeth, and keep 'em coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly Above Average
Review: Elizabeth Wurtzel does a very good (but not great) job of relating her experiences with depression. Along the way, she touches on some very interesting facts ("500,000 heroin junkies can't be wrong" hehe!) not to mention some very dark humor. The bad part of this book is that the end plays more like a Prozac ad than something of substance. For several pages she rambles on about how she was saved by Prozac and about how far ahead of other anti-depressants it is and exactly how it works. Now all that needs to come is the sequel where she's addicted to them and is affraid to get off. Trust me: I would know.
Rating:
Summary: Not For Entertainment
Review: I base ratings on entertainment value and importance of the subject/ability to cover the important subject. All of this is relative of course. This book covers an important subject - one which I am thoroughly familiar with as a depressed and medicated person. Its not an entertaining subject. When you are completely sick of depression, being depressed etc. you are totally bored with yourself and throughly sick of it and of life. This book expresses that very well. It expresses the crazy need for relief from that state. But I think many books have already covered it. I wondered if the author would have anything new to say - she doesn't. How many times will somebody want to write a book and express the thoughts and feelings we all have? Not too many more I hope.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetic honest and real
Review: I guess that you can say that reading memoirs is a new thing of mine. After reading such great books as Wasted by Marya Hornbatcher and First Person Plural I picked up Prozac Nation, looking foreword to an interesting story about growing up with depression. What I got was such more. Prozac Nation is a personal tale of growing up with depression and not really knowing what it was at first. Because of her parents divorce, Elizabeth Wurtzel was used to going to therapy sessions but the thought of her having depression didn't come up to years later. The book mainly focuses on her college years, about Elizabeth's living with depression, how she dealt with it and how it effected her life. Prozac Nation is written with the honesty and closeness that you might find in a dairy. I agree with many of the opinions that Miss Wurtzel has. Unlike some memoirs on this subject it is not filled with medical facts, but reflections. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Although I personally don't think I have any kinds of serious depression, I'm not the most calm and happy person in the world. This book made me realize that many people go through the same things and much worse. If you're a fan of memoirs or just good stories you should read this.
Rating:
Summary: It shows a true picture of depression
Review: When you're depressed for so long your perception of reality is very different. If you wanted to read something about someone with mental illness- PLEASE don't complain about it being "self-centered" or "whinny"! Depression makes life hard. I have bipolar, and at times I caretake for people too much, and I'm sure when I don't get out of bed for days on end or get annoyed by people too quickly I do seem self-centered, but that has NOTHING to do with it! I do not value what other people value. I do not THINK how "normal" people think. I think like a bipolar/OCD/Borderline/whatever-label-you-want. Mental Illness is an all encompassing monster that makes people behave, and yes, think in different ways than the normal person might think. Sometimes I cling to depressions with all my might because it's scary to change. Sometimes I do stuff that hurts people without expecting to hurt them. Sometimes I expect people to read my mind. It's the REALITY of depression people! It's the reality of feeling sad all the time. If you expect something else, read fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Artistic Ability & Pain: An Awesome & Awful Cocktail
Review: "Prozac Nation," Elizabeth Wurtzel's 1994 best selling autobiography of her torturous struggle (much of it while she was studying at Harvard) with severe and refractory depression is often disturbing, frequently oddly amusing, and a must read. The author is more than a gifted storyteller with a unique style. Her talent at fusing wit, insight, despair, hope, wonder and cynicism establishes her as a master of a complex narrative domain (and that's coming from someone who studied at Rutgers). Clearly, her story has larger, deeper and more rhythmic themes flowing within its pages. It often reads like a demanding score of music, making one sweat like a dervish dancing feverishly. This is not to suggest that "Prozac Nation" should be qualified as another story of depression dedicated to the search, any search, for answers, any answers, for the sake of asking, and not necessarily discovering. The beauty of Wurtzel's style is her unabashed willingness to say and realize anything, the naked and disconcerting nature notwithstanding. However, it's not enough to be naked and disconcerting within a vacuum; and the rawness is not for shock effect. Rawness is the very nature, quality and essence of the experience of deep depression. All of these emotions and touchstones are the byproduct's of her exceptionally well-considered examination of the social ramifications (especially for Generation X'ers) of a culture that invites, and even enjoys the twisted fancy marketing schemes that drive the profitability and often specious use of Prozac (to name one drug of many). Essentially, Ms. Wurtzel argues that such an environment threatens to "trivialize," both a serious drug, and a serious illness. In her Epilogue, she emotionally pleads that "...after years of trying to get people to take depression seriously...now it has gone beyond the point of recognition as a real problem to become something that appears totally trivial (302)." She further pleads that "[i]n the world that we live in, randomness does rule. And this lack of order is a debilitating, destabilizing thing (301)." Concurrently, Wurtzel makes it inherently clear that the inappropriate use of pharmacology as a means with which to fill the gaping gaps and unwholesome holes that exist in each of our lives is tenuous and ill conceived at best. The ghost of Kurt Cobaine, and others like him, are evoked as frightful reminders. "That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful," she cries (44). Thus we return to where we began. Part of Wurtzel's magic is the way we are forced to confront her willingness to point out the naked truth, even though (she'd probably say) it almost always sucks; and the truth here is read this book at least twice, take a hot bath, watch "A Beautiful Mind" on DVD, fight to maintain empathy for mental illness, and don't fall prey to the mindless trivialization that removes your fundamental right to participate in the course of your medical care and places it in the hands of a doctor with a pad and a Zoloft-pen and three minutes to spare.
Rating:
Summary: Have a friend who's depressed?... READ THIS BOOK
Review: Prozac Nation made me hurt for her and hurt for my friends who have gone through similar problems. The book shows the real picture of full-blown clinical depression, before depression was acknowledged and accepted as a disease and not just a prolonged bad mood that people are supposed to "snap-out of." It's a great read, especially if you are trying to understand a friend or yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Painstakingly Honest
Review: It's hard to be a teenager in today's stressful society. There is so much pressure to be the best and plan out the next 50 years of your life by the time you hit adolescence. What ever happened to innocence and just enjoying life because it is there to enjoy? Well, this book has helped me understand my own trials and tribulations a little bit better, yet quieted my selfish anxiety. This book makes one realize how self-involved they can be during teenage years, but this book also renews the notion that being selfish to a certain extent is only normal... but then again, what is normal? Regardless of the true, most invaluable definitions, this book is a classic for a "lost generation" and should be read by people of all ages and both genders.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent observations of the depressive mind!
Review: Prozac Nation is an honest memoir about depression among youths in America. It is told with a great deal of poignancy, but it also has a sardonic edge. Having experienced depression during my teens, this book hit home. The descriptions of how the mind of a person with depression works is rather disturbing -- and Wurtzel does an excellent job in delving into the every aspect of the mental illenss. I recommend this fascinating book most highly!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Read in awhile
Review: Of all of the books I have read in the past, this book stands out. Wurtzel's writing is full of emotion, imagry, and for all of those who are depressed, we can see the connection through what she says. I could not put this book down until it was read all the way!! You'll agree you will be spellbound as soon as you pick it up, running though all the madness with Wurtzel. It's a book I will never forget!
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