Quotes from book
Prozac Nation

Prozac Nation
Elizabeth Wurtzel

Prozac Nation is a memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel published in 1994. The book describes the author's experiences with atypical depression, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods while completing college and working as a writer. Prozac is a trade name for the antidepressant fluoxetine. Wurtzel originally titled the book I Hate Myself and I Want To Die but her editor convinced her otherwise. It ultimately carried the subtitle Young and Depressed in America: A Memoir.

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Insanity is knowing that what you're doing is completely idiotic, but still, somehow, you just can't stop it.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“One morning you wake up and are afraid you are going to live. In my case, I was not frightened in the least bit at the thought that I might live because I was certain, quite certain, that I was already dead.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Woke up this morning afraid I was gonna live.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“In the meantime, I could withdraw to my room, could hide and sleep as if I were dead”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“One of the terrible fallacies of contemporary psychotherapy is that if people would just say how they felt, a lot of problems could be solved.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“I wasn't just the madwoman in the attic--I was the attic itself. The past was all over me, all under me, all inside me.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Sometimes, I get so consumed by depression that it is hard to believe that the whole world doesn't stop and suffer with me.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“I was so scared to give up depression, fearing that somehow the worst part of me was actually all of me.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Getting help for substance abuse can be reduced to the deceptively simple focus of ‘keeping away from the dope.’ But what does getting help with depression mean? Learning to keep away from your own mind?”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“I come from a family of screamers. If they are trying to express any emotion or idea beyond pass the salt, it comes in shrieks.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“My God, I could raise a family of six children and hold down a full-time job with all the energy I expend on depression!”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Sometimes I wish I could walk around with a HANDLE WITH CARE sign stuck to my forehead.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“It's nonverbal: I need love. I need the thing that happens when your brain shuts off and your heart turns on. And I know it's around me somewhere, but I just can't feel it.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“I sit there in my bed staring at the wall, feeling happy, enjoying the way the wall looks, how pink and how white it is. Pink and white, as far as I’m concerned, have never looked quite so pink and white before.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“And she keeps saying, how can you do this to me?

And i want to scream, what do you mean, how can I do this to you? Aren't we confusing our pronouns here? The question, really, is How could I do this to myself?”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“Very early in my life it was already too late.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“I am crying over the elusive nature of love.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo

“In my case, I was not frightened in the least bit at the thought that I might live because I was certain, quite certain, that I was already dead.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Similar authors

Elizabeth Wurtzel photo
Elizabeth Wurtzel51
American author and journalist 1967–2020
Marek Żukow-Karczewski photo
Marek Żukow-Karczewski10
Polish historian, journalist and opinion journalist None
Chuck Palahniuk photo
Chuck Palahniuk555
American novelist, essayist None
Christopher Paolini photo
Christopher Paolini166
American author None
Cassandra Clare photo
Cassandra Clare2041
American author None
Dan Brown photo
Dan Brown135
American author None
John Green photo
John Green103
American author and vlogger None
Anthony Robbins photo
Anthony Robbins62
Author, actor, professional speaker None
Marilyn Manson photo
Marilyn Manson78
American rock musician and actor None
Jenny Han photo
Jenny Han226
American writer None