Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel

Quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel

Work

More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction

This memoir delves into the author's journey through addiction, offering an intimate look at the struggles and recovery process. more

Author

Elizabeth Wurtzel
Elizabeth Wurtzel

Elizabeth Wurtzel is an American writer, born on July 31, 1967. She is best known for her memoir 'Prozac Nation,' which details her life experiences and emotional struggles in her youth. Her writing style is direct and candid, which has won her a wide readership. more

You May Also Like

“Shit. I don’t want to hear one more person tell me how great I used to be, and how horrible I am now. I know they think that’s a compliment, I know they think they’re telling me something about my native character that I ought to be happy about, but it just breaks my heart. What’s wrong with me? Even when I was the person I used to be, I was not very happy. If anything, I am happier now, and everyone else is displeased. I can’t win.”

Addiction Ed Parallels
Book:More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction
Create image

“And I have to act as if. That’s a big recovery term: act as if. Act as if you believe you will stay sober. Act as if you like meetings. Act as if you believe in God. Act as if you like getting on your knees and praying each morning and night. Act as if there is a lot of wisdom in the Big Book and the Twelve Steps. Act as if there is a point to making your bed each day, even if you are just going to get back into it that night. Act as if everyone around you is not an idiot, and treat others with respect. They like to say: “You can’t think your way into acting, but you can act your way into thinking.” The idea is that if you do what you are supposed to, your mind might catch up with your body. If I stop acting as if therapy is one big useless joke that I have been in for twenty years only to land in a mental institution at long last, if I act as if this time it’s for real and this time it will work, it just might. It just might. And I have to count on those mights, all of them. They’re all I’ve got right now.”

RecoveryAddiction Ed ParallelsEerily Relatable
Book:More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction
Create image

“Most people will say, We had no idea she was on drugs. And it’s not because they’re stupid. It’s because the changes are subtle, the universe is parallel, you speak a little too quickly, your voice is more shrieky, you seem not to be paying attention, you stare too long and too hard at the wall or some detail in the Persian rug. Most people can’t tell that’s a problem. Most people have their own problems. It’s the people you are close to, the ones who love you, the ones who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul—to them, it is obvious that something is wrong or missing. Your heart and soul are missing. They feel it. It hurts them. It kills them.”

Addiction Ed ParallelsEerily Relatable
Book:More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction
Create image

“(...) psychiatrists today recognize the contortionist's act that was required of women in an age when they were expected to stifle their own healthiest impulses. (...) "To be able to renounce your own achievements without feeling that you were sacrificing requires constant effort. To be lovely and unaggressive, a woman spends a lifetime keeping hostile or resentful impulses down. Even healthy self-assertion is often sacrificed since it may be mistaken by hostility. Therefore, [women] often repress their initiative, give up their aspirations, and unfortunately end up excessively dependent with a deep sense of insecurity and uncertainty about their abilities and their worth.”

WomenFeminismOppressionInsecurityPatriarchyGender RolesDouble StandardsMale PrivilegePsychological TraumaCinderella ComplexEmotional Dependency
Book:The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence
Create image

“Why are women so fearful? The answer to that question lies at the root of The Cinderella Complex. (...) Many women achieve a certain amount of success in their careers and professions and still remain inwardly insecure. In fact (...), it's remarkable how many women these days retain a hidden core of self doubt while performing on the outside as if they were towers of confidence. (...) Lack of confidence seems to follow us from childhood (...) No matter how fiercely we try to live like adults - flexible, powerful and free - that girl-child hangs on (...). The effects of such insecurity are widespread, and they result in a disturbing social phenomenon: women in general tend to function well below the level of their native abilities. For reasons that are both cultural and psychological - a system that doesn't really expect a great deal from us, in combination with our own personal fears of standing up and facing the world - women are keeping themselves down.”

FearWomenFeminismInsecurityPatriarchyGender RolesMale PrivilegeCinderella ComplexEmotional DependencyPsycchological Trauma
Book:The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence
Create image