Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and Stupid...
Review: both for the contents of the book and the author. It could have been a contender, though. The basic skeletal structure was there for an interesting and maybe informative read. As for Ms. Wurtzel? Ayn Rand, she ain't.
Rating: 
Summary: what makes lizzie run?
Review: "Wait a second...you're actually addicted to snorting ritalin?" "Yes", repies Liz. "It enters my bloodstream faster and it feels like I'm doing cocaine. Of course, I do that when I run out of ritalin." I could imagine such an imaginary dialogue between Miss Wurtzel and her therapist(s?). The snorting of cocaine and ritalin takes up much of the activity of the book. Since the author is alarmingly intelligent and cognizant as some of the most dangerous addicts can be, she can manage to juggle friends, a few haphazard romances, and even her cat Zap. This is a heavily concentrated account of a pretty, sexy, self-made, strong-willed Harvard grad descending into the dead-end world of addiction. Maybe you say she should know better? Well, shouldn't everyone really? Self-destruction is a common theme in the most intelligent, gifted authors. Not excusting it, I think she is saying, just shedding some light. MNA is funny, shocking, at times gross, sure of itself, and dare I say, moving. I don't see this as a whoa-is-me confessional. That's too dismissive. More along the lines of a darkly comic tragedy with a sneaky acknowledgement of hope and redemption. It's not everyone's cup o'tea. Elizabeth, God bless you on your newfound sobriety and here's hoping we hear from you soon. I'll miss your razor-sharp wit and criminally-acute social commentary. Any woman who loves Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces" is after my own heart. Till next time.
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the worst books I have ever read!
Review: This girl needs to stop writing, she has lost the touch she never had. The book lacks any true points. I am waiting for her next book to be about her struggle with no-doze.
Rating:
Summary: Enough Already
Review: Would that it were possible to give zero stars. Yet another journey into narcissism by Ms. Wurtzel who is, in addition to being completely self absorbed, a really pitiful human being. Elizabeth Wurtzel's mind, and thus her book, is pure dross.
Rating: 
Summary: real life addiction
Review: As a recovering addict, I found Ms. Wurtzel's book to be a no-holds-barred, powerful account of addiction as it really is. I have read dozens of books on addiction and recovery, including Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book) and Narcotics Anonymous (The Basic Text), and nothing comes as close to describing the details of active addiction as does this book. The author shows that addiction does not discriminate. As a young, beautiful, talented, well-connected, white, Jewish woman, Ms. Wurtzel was not immune from the horrors that drug addiction brings to all who cross its path. The panic, lonliness, fear, confusion, and isolation most addicts eventually feel are documented in minute detail. I would recommend this book to recovering addicts and anyone who has a loved one who is still suffering from this disease. Those who read this book and fail to its profound truth simply don't understand what it means to be actively addicted to drugs. Even people who do not understand but who keep an open mind can be endowed with the profound insight this book has to offer.
Rating:
Summary: Most Realistic Depiction of Addiction
Review: As I recivering addict, I can relate 100% to the writings of Ms. Wurtzel in this book. I have read dozens of books about addiction and recovery, including Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Narcotics Anonymous (Basic Text), and this is the most accurate account of addiction and recovery I have ever read. The author describes the panic of being totally unable to control her use of drugs, no matter what she does, no matter what promises she makes, and no matter what the consequences may be. She betrays friends, she lies to her family, and even doesn't level with her psychiatrist. This IS addiction, and I have been there. The fact that she is an upper middle class, attractive, white, Jewish woman, who is very intelligent and gifted, does not make her immune from the perils of this disease. Anyone who reads this book and does not see it as a chilling account of the horrors of active addiction does not understand what it means to be an addict and to have totally lost control of your life.
Rating:
Summary: lenny bruce lives as a woman
Review: Mr. Amazon, I wish you hadn't let the Girl Scouts from Billings, Montana, write ninety per cent of the reviews for this book. They should have kept to their dirndl stitching, and their scrapbooks on Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. Actually it's difficult to beleive that these people reside on planet earth, in the year 2001. Liz, do not take these opinions seriously. Your madcap adventures in New York, and Florida, are exhilarating, funny, hip, and should make a great movie. The people who wrote these vituperative reviews, remind me of a person who says, "As long as you tell me the truth, I won't judge you." So then Liz tells the truth, and they say, "YOU'RE DISGUSTING". It's so nice to know also, that the the naysayers of this book have their own lives so together, and would never use one of them there "controlled, mind altering substances." The only thing they might take during brain, or gall bladder surgery is maybe one Bufferin. Liz,there's nothing to say, except, I loved the book, your insanity, your dysfunction, and you'll never be picked to be a spokeswoman, for the DAR. I gave the book four stars. Five is for Solzhenitsyn, and Tolstoy.
Rating:
Summary: Wild Ride
Review: While I didn't see this book as anything close to approaching inspirational literature, it was at best, one truly disturbing, wild ride. I know that if I hadn't been stuck on an airplane without something else to read, I would have put this book aside after a few chapters. This is a book about a severely troubled (albeit self-proclaimed intelligent) drug addict who is looking for someone or something to blame for her self induced misery. I suppose if you can force yourself to get by the arrogant, overblown perception of her own intellect, her need to blame a drug or person for her problems, and finally a retelling of yet another druggie lifestyle, perhaps this book may be useful to reach someone who, for whatever reason, may not have got the message about the potential problems of drug abuse and addition.However, after reading this memoir, I felt somehow unclean and depressed. I wanted a long shower. I think it's sad that most of us average folks that this poor little Harvard graduate must "suffer" in the world, are really much better off than a woman who threw her intellect away by drug abuse. And if this author is as intelligent as she wants us so desperately to believe, how can she not have foreseen the outcome of taking heroin, cocaine and snorting Ritalin? What good is intellect without good judgment and the ability to formulate logical conclusions based on probable outcomes? Just "do the math." This is not new stuff. Heroin abuse has a horrible history with very few rehab successes. Cocaine has also taken down many individuals probably much stronger and brighter and more disciplined than Ms. Wurtzel. This is not a new revelation. I wanted something insightful revealed to me but there is nothing here in this run-on style of writing. And regarding her indictment of drugs she was taking, she implied that Ritalin was the trigger that launched her into this whole mess. She thought it to be "safe" because physicians prescribe it to our children with ADD and ADHD. Yes, she is partially right about the safety of Ritalin, but only when taken as prescribed. This medication is extremely safe with few untoward effects when taken exactly as prescribed, but our "genius" in this memoir of addiction not only worked up to 10X the prescribed dose, but also crushed it up and snorted it through her nasal membranes rather than taking it orally as this medication is designed to be administered. For crying out loud, what sort of twisted individual bastardizes taking Ritalin? To make the spurious assumption that Ritalin is "bad" for the many people that are genuinely helped with ADD and ADHD, is an enormous disservice to those afflicted and helped with this medication. All said and done, I truly wish I had NOT bought this book as it takes you down a very dark road for no reason. I was hoping for insight as to what causes addictive personalities, what to do about preventing, sublimating, or diverting these tendencies into positive and constructive personality traits. Instead I got a book about someone who was trying to fix the blame and not the problem. Finally the thoughts expressed in her conclusion seemed insincere, hurried, and shallow about her recovery. I wish her well, but I am left wondering if she will make it pass the age of 50. If you're looking for something that will inspire, celebrate humanity, and be a positive contribution to society, in my opinion, this book is definitely not it. This is honestly yet another version of the very tired retelling of the celebrity (or "gifted" person)-does-the-rehab-thing. Nothing is new here.
Rating: 
Summary: More of the same
Review: If, after reading Prozac Nation, you found yourself wondering 'And then what happened?', this book is for you. The chapters that deal with the author's extended stay in Florida are the best. (The best part of the book, that is, not the best as in 'great'.) After that, the story gets progressively sketchier, as if Wurtzel is growing increasingly uncomfortable with sharing what happened to her and finally decides to speed things up (no pun intended) and make a long story short, which is understandable, I suppose, given what she went through, but disappointing nevertheless, since she is obviously capable of much better writing than what the second half of the book contains.
All in all, I quite liked the book (not as much as I had thought I would, but still), but at times, I found myself wishing Wurtzel would stop harping on what a small appetite she has - it got really annoying after a while. For someone who, according to herself, has "no interest in food", she sure mentions it a lot. (Or, as one writer once quipped about Prozac Nation: "My favorite thing about Elizabeth is that no matter how dramatically ill she gets, she never forgets to mention how thin she is.")
My least favorite part of the book was not the book itself, but the book description, which is badly written - the last part of it reads like something concocted by the people at Hallmark and would probably produce insulin shock in any diabetics who happened to read it - and makes the book appear more profusely emotional than it really is. So don't be put off by the at times unbearably maudlin book description ("As honest as a confession and as heartfelt as a prayer" . . . Give me a break.) - the book itself is actually not that bad.
Rating:
Summary: Her last book?
Review: Well, this book is, you know, like, okay I mean it's really. Oh, what do I mean? Okay, it's like about her, you know, addiction and everything. And like, she was addicted to this drug that's supposed to be used for, you know, people who have ADD. But then she, I mean, she didn't mean to, but she, like, became addicted to it. And, I mean, she, you know, had some big problems and everything. I mean, things, you know. IN OTHER WORDS: More, Now, Again: A memoir of addiction is so terrible on so many levels for so many reasons. This is an utterly vapid collection of words, assembled together as "a memoir" of the authors battle with one drug that lead to another, etc. Instead of offering any new insight into this crowded genre, this book merely rambles along, out of steam before it even begins. I honestly can't believe it was published. Surely her agent (or someone) must have told her, Do you really think this is a good idea? Because this book is so empty, so pointless, that it leaves one feeling breathless. The author's first two books sold well, so we have this, a third for the sake of a third. And even if you love the author's previous works, this one will leave you feeling flat. More, Now, Again is not more of the same...it's less of the same. And, you know, she could, I mean, maybe some day, you know, try to write, instead, of, you know, blabbering with her fingers.
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