Coming of Age on Zoloft: How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are

Would I have been someone else without this drug? Was I helped by it? Can I survive without it? Like many of her generation, Katherine Sharpe grew up on antidepressants. A serious panic attack in her first semester at college led to a prescription to Zoloft, a drug she would rely upon for the next ten years. Her story is not remarkable - except for its staggering ubiquity. In 2005, antidepressants surpassed blood-pressure medication as the most frequently prescribed class of drugs in the United States. That year, ten percent of the US population took an antidepressant, a figure that has been greater since. But what disturbs Sharpe most is that antidepressants-specifically, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs - are being prescribed to younger and younger patients. Children, adolescents, and teenagers are being robbed of the opportunity to grow up "as themselves," rather than as young people with doctored personalities. What's more, the reasons behind their prescriptions are often vague at best-resulting in a generation of young adults who have grown up dogged by existential doubts and uncertainties about their own personalities and potentials. In "Coming of Age on Zoloft", Sharpe offers insight and hope for these millions of young men and women struggling to understand their long-term relationships with antidepressants. Sharpe tells the story of the societal and scientific perfect storm that led to the SSRI explosion in the 1990s, delves deeply into her own drug experience, and interviews dozens of her peers about their relationships to SSRIs. Weaving these threads together with intelligence and grace, she creates a nuanced and thorough portrait of her generation's prescription - drug culture - a picture at once deeply troubling and yet ultimately, undeniably hopeful.

About the Author :
KATHERINE SHARPE's writing has appeared in n+1, GOOD, and Washington Post Magazine, among many other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Review :
"Intuitive and investigative, personal and historical, narrative-rich and fact-packed...Part of what makes this book riveting is the way Sharpe sets her own story within the larger context of cultural, social, and psychiatric changes that moved depression (along with other mental illnesses) into the medical spotlight." -- Elle "Sharpe is excellent at detailing the positives and negatives of these drugs ... But she is best at probing broader societal issues ... This is a fine book that nicely weaves together personal, sociological, and philosophical perspectives for a thoughtful view of how antidepressants are shaping many people's lives." -- Publishers Weekly "A knowing account of what it is like to grow up on psychiatric medications...Balanced and informative--an education for any parent considering psychiatric medication for a troubled adolescent." -- Kirkus Reviews "Beautifully written... This is a book for anyone taking or thinking about taking antidepressants, anyone who prescribes them, anyone who wonders about their suitability-or anyone who wants a mirror held up to our time." -- Dr. David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac "A fascinating look at how drugs and trends have shaped the identities of individuals and of a generation-provocative without being sensationalistic, skillfully written, and totally necessary." -- Emily Gould, author And the Heart Says Whatever