i've read almost all of wurtzel's work because i've had a lot of women in my life who impressed hack 'feminist' writing on me at a young and passive age. i don't deny that she's a babe, in fact, i think it's one of the only reasons her books have sold so well. i would even say she uses her looks as a crutch for her weak writing, which is just tacky in the literary scope. a more honest title for her books would be "memoirs of a broken hot girl" - her addiction-saturated sardonic wit is all too common in female writers who have nothing else of interest to write about but abuse that they suffered. i find it funny that you would point to wurtzel as being an example of a woman who transcends validation when her whole career is an almost desperate search for validation that cloaks itself in aggressive histrionics and nice tits or what she would call "tragic beauty" and what i would call "JAP narcissism"

she's obtuse and long-winded and raw in a way which isn't laudable, and her arrogance overshadows almost anything of value she contributes to the discussion of gender, sexism, and stereotypes because it is inauthentic. i don't deny that bitch and prozac nation were interesting in a way abortions or thalidomide victims are interesting, i just think that labelling her as an intelligent author is a bit of a longshot. then again, there are hordes of teenage girls who will agree with your assessment of her hot brilliance.