Sociopath

A Memoir

By: Patric Gagne Ph.D.

Narrated by: Patric Gagne Ph.D.

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Named a most anticipated book of 2024 by Vulture, LitHub, The Guardian, and Cosmopolitan

A fascinating, revelatory memoir revealing the author’s struggle to come to terms with her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder.

Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn’t understand. She suspected it was because she didn’t feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt.

She did her best to pretend she was like everyone else, but the constant pressure to conform to a society she knew rejected anyone like her was unbearable. So Patric stole. She lied. She was occasionally violent. She became an expert lock-picker and home-invader. All with the goal of replacing the nothingness with...something.

In college, Patric finally confirmed what she’d long suspected. She was a sociopath. But even though it was the very first personality disorder identified—well over 200 years ago—sociopathy had been neglected by mental health professionals for decades. She was told there was no treatment, no hope for a normal life. She found herself haunted by sociopaths in pop culture, madmen and evil villains who are considered monsters. Her future looked grim.

But when Patric reconnects with an old flame, she gets a glimpse of a future beyond her diagnosis. If she’s capable of love, it must mean that she isn’t a monster. With the help of her sweetheart (and some curious characters she meets along the way) she embarks on a mission to prove that the millions of Americans who share her diagnosis aren’t all monsters either.

This is the inspiring story of her journey to change her fate and how she managed to build a life full of love and hope.

©2024 Patric Gagne, Ph.D. (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Fascinating

Truly incredible story. The details are amazing and I'm sure this is helping people out there . Would love to read another book about couples therapy. I'm sure there would be loads to write just from that aspect of their relationship

Very enlightening

This book was most insightful. I have been looking for something to explain the way I feel about things. Although I am not an extreme case or even in the middle of the road case there are emotions, I struggle to understand. Maybe understand understand ourselves in the less extremes. I study personalities And have read quite a bit personality types, play, and now sociopathy. We all have things we can learn about ourselves and others who struggle with the demons inside. Understanding those demons imperative to a road to a peaceful life.

Best Narration

Incredible story, I learned so much! Truly amazing the circumstances that led her to this path, I hope this book helps reframe our understanding of sociopathy. And create a new branch of mental health services.

Excellent book

I enjoyed this so much!! The way that it's narrated is awesome, it gives everyone life and personality. The glimpse at how the media and medical community has shaped the narrative and created bias was very interesting. I've thought about that for other biases but had never thought about sociopathy through that lens. Overall well written and well read.

Brilliant!

So honest and heartening! I listened to this audiobook straight through (in 1 & 1/2 days) thank you for sharing your life experience and bringing Sociopathy out into the open. I had a good feeling about this book and I was right!

Re: Honest

After some thought, I realize I need to adjust my previous review. As a Sociopath, the author has this seamless ability to come across as honest. However, who am I to say that any of what she wrote in her memoir is actally true?? Either way, it makes for a great read!

Even non-sociopaths will love this book!

This well written memoir shares much more than one sociopath’s life experience. Dr Gagne’s self awareness, research, and hard work in her primary relationship models empathy and communication skills that we all need. I have listened to this book twice to squeeze more juice from this gem of a psychological journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone open to learning more about possible ranges of emotional experiences and how to navigate relating to others with a different range. I am grateful for this woman’s courage to care and share this powerful lifeline for others.

Insightful

Honest and intelligent. As a recovering alcoholic it is true that the only people that really understand is other alcoholics. There is a stigma and stereo type that is not true. This story gave me insight into a different side of psychopathy.

Good and….

Great mostly. I think MOST sociopaths are not just sweet, badasses with happy endings - and sometimes I thought, well I might be a sociopath because I am the same way, especially when she talked about her kids. I think less sociopath and more “alpha female”. But more power to her for accepting the things she cannot change and working on the things she could.

Wow!

This book was absolutely fascinating. Its memoir meets science. The story is candid, blatantly truthful, and so, SO interesting. This is a book everyone should read, especially those working with children. Maybe, if we learn to understand the psychopathy there would be less assuming that these individuals are just… “bad.”