| Prozac Nation | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Elizabeth Wurtzel |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Riverhead Trade |
| Publication date | 1994 |
| Pages | 384 pages |
Prozac Nation (sub-titled Young and Depressed in America: A Memoir), an autobiography published in 1994 and written by Elizabeth Wurtzel, describes the author's experiences with major depression, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods while completing college and working as a writer. The title is a reference to Prozac, the brand name of an antidepressant prescribed for Wurtzel.
The book was adapted into an independent film of the same name starring Christina Ricci and released in 2001.
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wurtzel is a teenager accepted into Harvard with a scholarship in journalism. She has been raised by her divorced mother since she was two years old, but she misses her father and feels needy and depressed. When she joins the university, she lives with a roommate Ruby and loses her virginity to a man called Noah. Her article for the local column in The Harvard Crimson is awarded by Rolling Stone.
Lizzie goes on a downward spiral, and begins to abuse drugs and alcohol as her depression worsens; in her anger and misery, she lashes out at those who love her most, ultimately making her problems worse. Her mother sends her to an expensive psychiatric treatment with Dr. Sterling, in spite of having difficulties paying for her medical bills and therapy sessions. After a long period of treatment under medication, and a suicide attempt, Lizzie stabilizes and adjusts to the world.