Rating: 
Summary: Good read.
Review: I couldn't put this book down. I have depression, so I understand what she's going through. But even I haven't suffered as much as she has. I don't think she is a whiner. It's not an easy life going through depression, so I believe she has every right to her words. She had some of my thoughts right on target, I couldn't believe it. I would definately recommend this, I already have to some of my friends that also suffer from depression, but even if you don't, this book will help you have a better understanding of the way a depressed person views the world and their lifestyle.
Rating: 
Summary: salvation
Review: I could probably have made it through the mess that I was without this book. I'm glad I didn't have to. It was one of the few things I had then that made me believe I could get better.
Rating:
Summary: Intersting
Review: People are strange. They say how the character was so self-absorbed and how she didnt care about anyone else. Duh. Depression. Hello? Get anything out of the book?Its a good book. Its the way someone felt. All the negative reviews need to realize that these are her thoughts when she was depressed. Not perfectly edited so that she looks better.
Rating:
Summary: On Point
Review: It is true that the descriptions of Wurtzel's behavior would at times make the reader extremely unsympathetic, and it is very probable that the same story could have been told with about a hundred or so less pages. These are the reasons I could not justify five stars. But it is extremely worthy of four because whereas Wurtzel is not the most loveable of protagonists, she is extremely skilled in describing what it is like to experience depression. As a long-time sufferer of this condition, I know what it is like to not be able to find the words to explain to friends and family that you just dont know why you feel like crying and how hard it is to simply get out of bed in the morning. Depression is not well understood by many as even well-meaning people feel you ought to beable to just pull yourself up by your boot straps and get a grip on life. But its not that simple. Too many people view it as simply feeling sorry for oneself, but I dont think anybody would just WANT to feel down and out all the time. Depressives are constantly looking at other people and wishing they could laugh as much and be as upbeat. They are wishing, as Wurtzel put it, that they wont wake up afraid they are going to live. And while perhaps not as desparate as Wurtzel was concerning Rafe, I can undoubtedly relate to the feeling of wishing that there is someone who can "save" you from yourself. She described the black wave so well that I cried throughout the entire reading that someone knew and understood what I too felt but was not able to explain. And for that reason alone this book is an important read. Put aside the whiny instances that made Wurtzel unlikeable and focus more on her descriptions of what it feels like to go through this pain. Its helpful to sufferers to know that they are not alone and an important eye-opener to others that depression is not a self pity party, but a serious condition that should be treated as such.
Rating: 
Summary: Eh? A journey into sympathy seeking
Review: Hm, I had to basically MAKE myself read this book through. Elizabeth did exactly what I believe she intended to.. become an "idol" to the depressed. She was just so whiney in this book it made me sick. I also honestly believe she exaggerated a lot. Elizabeth really just set out to tell her story, get some sympathy and attention and that was that. You will come to realize the more you read that everything had to revolve around her. It seemed as if she just enjoyed telling everyone and anyone that would listen that she was suicidal, depressed and an addict but never truly wanted the help they offered. This book seems to be more of a praise to depression rather than the "Sparkling, luminescent prose... a powerful portrait of one girl's journey through the purgatory of depression and back" a quote from The New York Times. This book was just filled with all this woe is me crap. Hopefully the movie will be better. One thing I must add.. Elizabeth is a powerful writer. Her analogies and points are amazing but for this book.. I'm only giving 2 stars.. sorry Lizzie :/
Rating:
Summary: Quite Entertaining
Review: The author is a talented writer who has suffered from severe depression. I enjoy good movies and books about mental hospitals and mental illness. They make me glad I'm not psychotic at the moment, and they remind me of where I've been and of where I'm glad I'm not right now. Elizabeth Wurtzel writes with more humor than any other depressed writer I know of. Is this book profound or of lasting importance? Maybe. It certainly has received a lot of attention.
Rating:
Summary: Tragic, self-indulgent, brave and powerful all at once
Review: Elizabeth Wurtzel tells a compelling and tragic tale of a bright young life that was almost ruined by the disease of depression. She does a good job of painting a picture for the reader, showing what it was like to live inside her head during her most depressed states. The honesty with which she bares her disease for all to see is remarkable and brave. What sometimes puts the reader off a bit is her tendency for self-indulgence and self-absorption. True, this is a book about herself, but at the same time, there isn't any allowance for an opposing point of view at key moments in her suffering. For most of the book, Wurtzel's mother is seen as nothing more than whiny and weak, and that simply can't be true of a woman who raised a Harvard-educated child on her own. We're never given more than a glimpse at Wurtzel's friends, either, who clearly played a large role in her recovery from depression, especially when she enrolls in Harvard and is away from her mother. Nevertheless, this is a powerful tale of a disease that many Americans still don't fully understand. The Epilogue is perhaps the most important part of this book, as it details the increasing diagnosis of depression in our society, and highlights why books like Prozac Nation are becoming more and more important.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Important Memoir
Review: Before I even get started I have a confession...
I owned Prozac Nation for quite awhile before I actually read it. I was under the prejudicial cloud that it was a "chick book", not only because it was written by a young woman, but I think possible because society seems to paint depression as a feminine malaise.
Once I started it, after reading the prologue I learnt to put my first impressions away and read it for what it was; which is a very important book.
Elizabeth Wurzel opens up her mind and soul sharing her happiest(not too many granted) & darkest moments with the reader. She tries to analyze the roots of her feelings, and maybe reach catharsis through the writtem word. Granted there are times in the memoir where she intentionally(?) makes it very hard for her audience to sympathize with her plight at all, and this is a book one probably doesn't want to zip through. In fact it took me longer than planned because I found if I read too much at a time almost by osmosis it seemed, Wurtzel's depression would seep into me.
This book isn't an easy or light read but I stand by my orginal statement it is very important and honest work, and especially relevent to people who have felt not only in a funk or little blue, but that have reached inside themselves swirling in their blackness of the feelings. Wurtzel lets those people know that they are not alone others have felt the same bleakness and lived to find the silver lining amongst the clouds.
Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth reminded me a lot of myself
Review: A lot of people say that ant-depressant's cause suicide and I some how disbelieve that because of this book . If your going to committee suicide then your going to committee suicide the anti-depressants just give you the ambition to commit it.Even if your not depressed by reading this you get in the mind of a depressed women where actions are spontaneous and crying is frequently.I loved this book and i recommend it to everyone hopeless and to anyone who feels thier the only one going through depression this book helps....
Rating:
Summary: true to the emotions
Review: when i read this book i was severely depressed. at first it made me angry i thought how dare she say that depressed people only care about themselves. i also thought she made it seem as though the depressed cant be helped by anyone but themselves. after reading it again 3 years later after my depression was gone i discovered she was right. this is a great book it may make some depressed people mad but it is hard to see how right she is when u r in a similar situation. i highly recommend this book to everyone it is written so well. and shows such true emotion.
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