Elizabeth Wurtzel: Dud or DUD?

One of the probs of depression is surely that, absent a major life tragedy as, well, "hook", its proximate reasons in any given person can actually SEEM (ie to them) trivial, hence the (possibly) damaging stiff-upper-lip/keeping-it-in syndrome... and then it gets (medically) worse not better. I think one thing I got from PN was that telling myself that my reasons for depression were trivial rubbish (so snap out of it, you idiot) actually meant i hadn't yet grasped the nature of depression (which is that the reasons you give are rarely the actual reasons).

It's been so long since I've read PN I don't think I could give a coherent critique of it. I hadn't even noticed her in years, until she started flapping her lips about how beautiful the WTC's collapse was, so I think I'm just feeling some residual frustration that someone who's so often painted as a spokesperson for people my age should be such an idiot.

I just finished More, Now, Again.

I do like EW. I think people look at that statement with a preconcieved notion in their mind. I think people approach her writing with a preconceived idea in mind. All of this is fine so far as it goes.

I think the point is that we approach everything with our own set of bias. If you've never gone through what EW has gone through I don't think you're in a position to say anything about her life. More to the point, if you don't have a fairly similar make up mentally to her then I don't think it's possible for you to have any real sympathy and especially no understanding of her.

It seems to me that from Prozac Nation to More, Now, Again, which are the two books specifically dealing with her life, EW goes from one level of reaching for valadation (Prozac Nation) to an entirely different level in M, N, A.

Both of her autobiographical books are pleas. It's not until she gets to the level of honesty (damn near total, if not total) that she does in M, N, A that she finally displays her real plea.

More, Now, Again reads like one big love letter. It is EW at her most honest and totally exposed, asking for someone to love her despite all the ugliness.

To me that's damn brave.

And not something that's going to appeal to most folks.

What exactly is it you're disagreeing with?

As it happens a lot of people here have gone through experiences of addiction and mental illness - some choose to write about it, others don't. Some like EW, others don't. The mistake you're making is to think that because you've found a book you can empathise with and learn from - which is fantastic - anyone who can't empathise with it has no right to criticise it. That's not true - they have no right to criticise your liking of it, which is different surely.

Selle, "misguided" is putting it a bit mildly, wouldn't you say? And, is it fueled from her *depression*...or fueled from her ignorance? I worked on a depression study for 4 years, and assessed probably somewhere in the ballpark of 150-175 people with depression over that time. Similar to what Xwerxes indicated, I would be willing to bet that a good 98-99% of them would have shown a complete abhorrence towards Wurtzel's comments.

I am of the opinion that EW probably has more stuff going on that is not explained simply by virtue of depression--again, as suggested previously, I think something more characterlogically- or personality- based, of which depression is probably a by-product.

Yeah, they keep playing it on Encore (It's on right now, but I've missed the beginning yet again). She's incredibly irritating in this film, but I guess that's the point. The real EW must just be a hoot.

I just want to say that Adam's cleric spell posts make this entire thread worthwhile

OTM.

i have a whole love/hate thing going on with ew. i dont think shes a bad writer at all. really, i could read 'more, now, again' a hundred times and i still wouldnt be tired of it.

I'll have to keep an eye on Encore, I never noticed PN.

wow, this is unexpected
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=2972554&page=1

this woman is to blame for so much unreadable bad shit on the bookshelves. she's this generation's tom wolfe or something.

Hey, I graduate law school in 2008 and am about the same age. Maybe I'll have the chance to litigate against her someday. God, can you imagine Elizabeth Wurzel as your legal counsel? I'd buy tickets to court to see how she handles objections, cross-examination and closing arguments.

i still love 'more, now, again'.

yeah I read that article it's such fucking terrible shit garbage that it's not even worth engaging individual "points"

@LizzieWurtzel 20m
I am terrified by the cardboard signs beggars now have, like we don't know, and of course we do not. They say too much or not nearly enough.