Sociopath

A Memoir

By: Patric Gagne Ph.D.

Narrated by: Patric Gagne Ph.D.

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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

Wow

I am so impressed by Patric. To be a sociopath and to spend so much intellect, energy and strategy even as a child to understand herself and mitigate her own worse impulses is - astonishing and admirable. I loved this book and feel like I understand sociopathy so much more than I ever have. Thank you, Patric.

Fascinating Memoir

Learned much but am still confused about the diagnosis and skeptical that 1 in 25 people are sociopaths.

Very interesting and educational. As I believe most of us, I had no idea about the the traits of a sociopath

I learned so much and enjoyed every second of this book! Thank you for teaching us the intricate world of a sociopath. We can now all stop believing that all sociopaths are inherently bad or dangerous.

Really good!

I was really entertained all the way through. I learned a lot but went through the journey with. Read like a good fiction novel but was really informative and real eye opening to the struggles and journey that the author went through. I completely understand the call to arms to enable others to become education. I had no idea that sociopathy is so prevalent! and read well from the author herself!

Fascinating listen!

An insightful and honest view into the life of someone with Sociopathy. Deeply interesting, and beautifully told.

Author did a fantastic job reading this. Fascinating, even funny at times and absolutely not what you would expect.

Excellent mix of personal and clinical!

Dr. Gagne uses poignant vulnerability and clinical knowledge to help us understand her in a way that helps us understand ourselves. Her stories with her partner and other relationships taught me not only about how a person with sociopathic traits might experiences things but also how I experience things. As a budding psychologist myself, Dr. Gagne has challenged my understanding of my personal and professional empathic responses with this work. Highly recommend, especially her self-narrated audiobook version!

Groundbreaking

Excellent. Witty. Sharp. This memoir is a critical contribution to society. As we all work to understand the seeds of our psyche, this sociopathic perspective surprisingly takes empathy to a whole new level.

Commonality

Fantastic, nice to have someone able to articulate what others can’t begin to explain to those around us.

Wow

This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a while! The human mind is a wonderful thing!