Ratings34
Average rating3.8
'Your friends would probably describe me as nice. But guess what? I can't stand your friends. I'm a liar. I'm a thief. I'm highly manipulative. I don't care what other people think. I'm capable of almost anything.' Sociopath: A Memoir is at once a mesmerizing tale of a life lived on the edge of the law, a redemptive love story and a moving account of one woman's battle to create a place for herself and a deeper understanding of people who, like her, are sociopaths. Ever since she was a small child, Patric Gagne knew she was different. Although she felt intense love for her family and her best friend, David, these connections were never enough to make her be 'good', or to reduce her feelings of apathy and frustration. As she grew older, her behaviour escalated from petty theft through to breaking and entering, stalking, and worse. As an adult, Patric realized that she was a sociopath. Although she instantly connected with the official descriptions of sociopathy, she also knew they didn't tell the full story: she had a plan for her life, had nurtured close relationships and was doing her best (most of the time) to avoid harming others. As her darker impulses warred against her attempts to live a settled, loving life with her partner, Patric began to wonder - was there a way for sociopaths to integrate happily into society? And could she find it before her own behaviour went a step too far?
Reviews with the most likes.
Patric’s story really exemplifies the idea that you can only help people who want to be helped. I found it interesting and there is a lot of detail here to unpack.
I was really interested in this book after seeing a bunch of people I follow review early copies and I think that unfortunately raised my expectations. As someone with BPD I understand first hand what it's like to have a very misunderstood and villainized mental illness, and I enjoyed seeing the author talk about that alongside the feeling of being alone in her diagnosis. The thing that really lowered my enjoyment of this was simply the fact that I didn't like the author. Which is super disappointing (and a little annoying) considering this is a memoir. I was interested in understanding more about what it means to be a Sociopath, simply because almost everything you find in the media about it is negative or blown out of proportions. Overall, I had an alright time reading this and I wish I didn't see so many raving reviews of it so I could've kept my expectations low.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley