Better Living Through Chemicals
Explore curated books on chemistry, culture, and consciousness—from Laura Esquivel's magical realism to Prozac Nation—transforming life through chemicals in literature.
Book
Prozac Nation
by Elizabeth Wurtzel
"A book that became a cultural touchstone." -- The New Yorker Elizabeth Wurtzel writes with her finger in the faint pulse of an overdiagnosed generation whose ruling icons are Kurt Cobain, Xanax, and pierced tongues. In this famous memoir of her bouts with depression and skirmishes with drugs, Prozac Nation is a witty and sharp account of the psychopharmacology of an era for readers of Girl, Interrupted and Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.
Book
Thank You for Smoking
by Christopher Buckley
Nick Taylor, chief spokesman for The Academy of Tobacco studies, pitted against an increasingly self-righteous anti-smoking society--and against someone who wants him stubbed out for good.
Book
Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico blends poignant romance, bittersweet wit, and delicious recipes. This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way.
