Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America: A Memoir

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Summary: Prozac Nation is the best book about depression ever.
Review: Prozac Nation was such and inspration to me. I am 15 and I read this book, just for fun. I could relate so much to the emotions and the feelings of Elizabeth Wurtzl. I am now receiving care for Bipolar Disorder(Manic Depression), and did a research paper on the topic of depression. I can honstly say that my life has changed because of this book.

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Summary: A great book. Ignore the negative reviews!
Review: This book helped me a lot when I was extremely depressed. Although the subject matter is superficially 'depressing', it is actually a book of hope and I found the fact that this book is testament to the universality of depression a real aid as I thought I was the only one who felt the way I did. I think the book is well written and the ending is very positive, it shows that some people are inclined to be depressed and that depression MUST be recognised as a legitimate and real illness which affects a huge percentage of the population. It is also important that it reflects the mind of a young girl and shows that just because you are young doesn't mean you don't have worries and insecurities just like other people. Young people are not as confident as they appear. They wear their identities through clothing and subculture because they are unsure of who they are and do not want to fade into the background. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels alone, misunderstood or just plain old depressed! It is one of my favourite books!

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Summary: An atypical book dealing with depression
Review: My favorite classic would have to be The Bell Jar, written by Sylvia Plath. For some reason, morbid books interest me. It's so sad but i love knowing that my life looks good compared to the book. i came across prozac nation by accident, i was perusing the shelves at a book store. Little did i know how incredible it would be. Elizabeth Wurtzel takes you through her life and makes it seem like you are there with her. One warning though-if you have depressive tendencies do not read this. I am not depressed at all, but there would be so many things that she said that i have thought myself or that were so true. After finishing the book, i sort of got a little depressed. Regardless though, this book is a must read. Especially if you are between the ages of 18-25

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Summary: If you are depressed, don't read this book!
Review: When I first read this book, I was in high school struggling with depression and I thought that reading about someone else's struggle would help me. In this case I was wrong. I found the book extremely pessimistic and hopeless. This is not the kind of thing you want to be reading when you are in the midst of a full blown attack of the hell that is depression. It will only make your world darker and more frightening. It is however, an interesting book if you can detatch yourself from it. I wasn't able to do that.

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Summary: Tripe.
Review: Self-indulgent, self-pitying and overwritten. The cringe factor is extremely high in this book; I altenated between feeling embarrassment and utter contempt for the author.

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Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: This is a book not for the light of heart. It contains a graphic portrayal of a women deppressed in america. I would recomend it to mature viewers of whom wish to understand the view of the deppressed graphic world inder a new light

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Summary: Prozac Nation
Review: I picked this book off a summer reading list and I thought it was going to be some type of a documentary on prozac, so I was a little surprised when I started to read this book. I only got through the first chapter "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die." If you have dealt with depression, then this is a great book to read. Prozac Nation shows the reader the emptiness and lonesomeness someone with depression goes through.

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Summary: It's about time an honest account of depression was made.
Review: Being bipolar, with definate stronger depressive features, I was anxious to read this book. Some parts of the book were so true, I could almost feel myself being brought back to that awful state of mind, yet this time I had the strength and the knowledge to get out. A book this well written, as someone with a mental illness can know, can only be done so after being to hell and back. The honesty is refreshing, and there are ideas, thought patterns, and behaviors that could have only been written about by being there. For anyone who hasn't had the "joy" of being blessed with a mental illness, you can't make up these feelings, paranoias, or what we see as truths. They must be lived and able to be told later. Luckily, Elizabeth Wurtzel has lived to tell her story with such beauty. Anyone who reads this will either remember the times of their own illness, or they will see a true picture of what "living with a mental illness" is all about and realize that you can't just pull yourself out of depression.

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Summary: For every person who has experienced Depression
Review: It so important for anyone who has been through Depression to read this book. Wurtzel's descriptions of it sound so very like my own journal entries of three of my four years in college fighting desperately for my own sanity. Depression forces a profound want beyond words, yet its victims have zero capacity to think, hope and express feelings (because there are none). A dead will and an empty spirit are its manifestations. I am happy and relieved that Elizabeth Wurtzel has given voice to a disease that is so prevelant yet so private and lonely for each person who experiences Depression.

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Summary: The end saves this book
Review: Though the beginning was really slow, I liked this book by the time I finished it. I picked it up because I have just started taking Prozac for depression. Wurtzel tells a good story, but I don't think the majority of it is particularly well-written. I do like the points she makes near the end about how the popularity of Prozac relates to early 90s anomie. Also, I was happy to see someone else found solace in Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" album!