"insufferable" describes both her depression and the experience of reading this book and that's what makes it great.

I really admire Elizabeth's vulnerability in making herself this vulnerable. This memoir tells the story of her illness, from first symptoms all the way through to chemical treatment that finally offered some relief. Although it's called prozac nation, the pill itself doesn't appear until the very end of the book and isn't actually the core focus of the story. Instead, the focus is the messy, self-centered mind of a teenager and then young adult trying to manage mental illness. Oftentimes badly. Oftentimes at the expense of people around her. Oftentimes in frustratingly relatable ways that made me want to dnf the book.

Reading this was both extremely painful and incredibly worth it. Prozac was similarly a turning point in my own illness, and this narrative brought back emotions and memories from the before times (and some after times). I appreciate how much self reflection this prompted and am glad I annotated a lot of the good bits so that I can revisit them (and there are so many good bits).

A final note: the epilogue and afterword are absolutely fantastic. They examine the bizarre phenomenon where clinical depression is both a serious illness and one that seemingly everyone seems to have nowadays. These sections tackle overprescription of antidepressants along with the under treatment of people who desperately need help. I found these sections incredibly rewarding to read after having finished the memoir.

Recommended if you've dabbled in depression lit in the past (we're talking girl interrupted, darkness visible, the bell jar), are ready for more, and don't mind witnessing firsthand how self-centered someone with the illness can be when they are trying to claw their way out.

More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk