Sociopath
A Memoir
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- 14,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling memoir of the author’s struggle to understand her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder.
“A cross between a podcast by relationship therapist Esther Perel and a salacious tell-all.” —San Francisco Chronicle
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I am a twenty-first century sociopath," former therapist Gagne asserts in the introduction to her bracing debut, "and I've written this book because I know I'm not alone." She begins by recounting her childhood affinity for thievery and other early signs, including the excessive time she spent alone, that "something about me was off." As Gagne grew older, stealing trinkets gave way to stealing cars and credit cards, and in college, her first therapist diagnosed her as a sociopath. Reading all the material she could get her hands on, Gagne learned that the condition (characterized by "a disinclination to empathize with others") is widely misunderstood—and often misdiagnosed—and resolved to pursue a PhD in the subject to help others like herself. Meanwhile, she managed a bumpy relationship with her boyfriend (and eventual husband), David, one of the few people for whom she felt deep love. Gagne's stated goal is demystification ("representation matters"), and she succeeds, legibly outlining the workings of her mind and the hopelessness she felt upon diagnosis. Courageously candid and sometimes shocking, this no-holds-barred self-portrait offers an illuminating glimpse at a mental health disorder long shrouded by shame.
