“I thought depression was the part of my character that made me worthwhile. I thought so little of myself, felt that I had such scant offerings to give to the world, that the one thing that justified my existence at all was my agony.”

American writer, journalist, and lawyer

Elizabeth Lee Wurtzel was an American writer, journalist, and lawyer. She is best known for Prozac Nation, her confessional memoir published when she was 27, and for being seen as a voice of Generation X. Her writing often examined her own experiences with depression, addiction, work, and relationships. In the 1990s, her books helped fuel the rise of confessional writing and the personal memoir. Later in life, she briefly worked as an attorney before she died of breast cancer.