Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel

I read Prozac Nation for the first time when I was in High School. I don't remember why - maybe because the cover intrigued me by showing a girl that was like me or someone I wanted to be. Anyways, I remember devouring it then and I wanted to read it again because Elizabeth Wurtzel recently passed away.

Much like The  Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (also a book I adore!), Prozac Nation graphically details Wutrzel's struggles with depression in the eighties and early 90's - the book was published in 1994. She attended Harvard, where many of her battles took fruition. Initially, I don't think that the book got the attention it deserved.  This is a rich memoir of how Wurtzel pulled herself up by her bootstraps, won numerous awards, got into Harvard and yet, was plagued by a deep seated depression that traces back to her youth.

This book changed the world of writing in many ways, but most notably, it was unashamed and unabashed and allowed people to really talk about things like mental health without shame.  Wurtzel was one of the first to use Prozac to treat depression successfully and she told us her stories without shame.  I loved it.  And I loved reading about her.

This book is just as good as it was when it was released over twenty years ago and is just as important and relevant now as it was then.