This book helps you learn about narcissists and how to deal with them while not letting them suck out all your energy. This is not the first book I've read by this author and am familiar with his four-color behavioral model. A good read if you are not familiar with the traits of a narcissist or need help with how to work with them. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

While I didn't read anything new about narcissists, the book was filled with humor and great information for those seeking a resource on narcissism. I recommend this book to anyone looking to understand what narcissism is and the ways it manifests. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

SURROUNDED BY NARCISSISTS by
Thomas Erickson
Published by St Martin's Press
Publishing date June 21 2022

I have read alot of books about Narcism and psychopaths. I feel this book did a decent job of describing the dsm clinical requirements I couldn't agree with everything he wrote however and felt he confused some terms and ideas.
However for a general basic understanding of the Narcassist I think it is fine.
Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very informative and insightful book.Having a brother who is a narcissist made me really want to read this book.Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an e copy.Highly recommend for anyone who has narcissists in their life and wants to stay sane.

I enjoyed Surrounded by Idiots, which is why I chose to read this one. However, I did not enjoy this book as much. It has an anecdotal tone (not a complaint) but I don't think it offered new or well-researched info on the subject. Some of the stories felt incredulous; although the author does admit that they have not been proven factual. I'm just wondering why they were brought up in the first place? For example, there was the story about Narcissus that I just did not believe. But I tend to be more analytical so a casual reader may not be distracted by those stories. Overall, Surrounded by Narcissists reads like stuff you can find on the internet that is better researched. It did not leave much of an impression.

There is a very informative and helpful book to identify and understand narcissism. I like how it breaks it down and compares it to other psychoses and disorders to make it easier to get just what it is. There is some genuinely helpful advice in here as well, like you need to run at the very first sign of abuse. I really liked the statements that not knowing that what you're doing is harmful doesn't absolve you--you must take responsibility and accept the consequences of your actions--and that the Internet is not the real world (many people really, really need to hear that).

However, there are some language, opinions, and structure to how the information is given that I don't really agree with or feel might be a bit harmful itself... Like the section about groups in the discussion about cultural narcissism; there are different weights to these things and lumping in everyone together as equal in how they are being attacked is absolutely not something I feel is a fair thing to do. Especially when the author mentions the important work of civil rights activists--right after using the example of changes in lexicon involving people of color as the result of a group being too sensitive. It makes me think of the "special snowflake" debate and it really just rubbed me the wrong way when I was reading that section. Some of the language about the topic feels a little flippant at times too.

Regardless, this was a read that kept me highly engaged and I don't think that was just because I'm a psychology nerd. The author has a fun, accessible way of explaining things and makes it genuinely easy to grasp the concept, and offers genuine concern for the reader and all who is affected by narcissism.

In a world that seems to be increasingly filled with narcissistic behavior, Surrounded by Narcissists is both timely and intriguing. Thomas Erikson establishes an easily understandable definition of narcissism and then goes on to delineate ideas for dealing with troublesome behavior.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Surrounded by Narcissists. While I’ve done a lot of research into this due to family members and I didn’t really learn anything new, I enjoyed the writing of this book. If you don’t know much or anything about narcissism, I’d recommend this book. Thanks again NetGalley for the ARC!

I was intrigued by this title having worked with people showing narcissistic tendencies so I was intrigued to learn more -- the subtitle is "How to Effectively Recognize, Avoid, and Defend Yourself Against Toxic People (and Not Lose Your Mind) [The Surrounded by Idiots Series]" - and what I appreciated about the book is that in the very opening chapters he clearly states that to truly diagnose someone as being narcissistic should be done by a trained professional. But that people can exhibit narcissistic type behaviors and our society tends to promote and reward some of these behaviors.

Erikson uses the DiSC theory (personality assessment) as a basis for looking at personality factors and human behavior which is extremely relevant to my workplace since we use DiSC as a tool for individual development/self awareness and for team effectiveness.

Also helpful is the understanding that beneath it all narcissists want control -- that is exactly how I have experienced these type of people in my work and life -- it is so refreshing when you realize that you will never be able to please them no matter what you do -- that knowledge has freed me up to stop wasting energy on trying to please them. Erikson also outlines some other techniques and I have used some of them and find they work really well -- such as, break the pattern (put a pause before you react) or become a broken record without letting yourself get triggered. The latter chapters address cultural/society issues as well as parenting. I am actually interested in reading other books in "The Surrounded by Idiots series!" Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have much experience working with and teaching about those with personality disorders and personality disorder traits. I thought this book was terrific and will highly recommend it to students as well as colleagues and audience members.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a great resource for anyone looking to understand what narcissism is and ways it manifests. This book will not help you if you want to learn to live with, confront, or heal from narcissistic abuse.

From the author of Surrounded by Idiots and Surrounded by Psychopaths, Surrounded by Narcissists is a self-care book for those who feel like everyone around them is just out for themselves and what you can do about it. Tips and tricks are given to identify and protect yourself against toxic people in your life. A great new addition to this author's collection of books.

my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. This is my unbiased and honest review.

I was quite intrigued by this book as I have had numerous narcissists in my life and seem to keep acquiring new ones. I"ve read a fair number of books on the subject.

I found this book informative in that it works to define the differences between narcissists and other personality types that may be similar in tendency and in interactions, but I felt the book was a bit too lighthearted in places and some of the commentary on parents and children/society was a bit overbearing. I would have preferred more concrete tools for dealing with narcissists, spotting narcissists, avoiding interactions with narcissists, and more of a guideline than social commentary.

It gets three 1/2 stars for being informative in identifying narcissists but I would have liked more tools and information on dealing with them in the day to day and in family situations.

While I found this book very informational, i also (and sorry for being so frank) found it pretty boring. Reading this book, I realize a lot of people in my life, are narcissistic and I can’t tell if it’s a good thing that I’ve acknowledged that or if it isn’t because I’m putting a very harmful worth labeled with them. (If that makes Sense) while I did read this book through, skimming parts if it, I can appreciate all that I’ve learned, but I don’t think I would ever read it again, and I didn’t really enjoy it.

I found this book to be helpful in identifying what a narcissist is and what they are not. The author distinguishes between narcissists and other energy draining personality types. He gave a good analysis as to the explosion of narcism in our current popular culture, specifically with the use of social media and the popularity of self-love. He delves further into raising narcissistic children and ways to avoid it. Overall, the reader will walk away with a more clear cut picture of narcissism as a disorder versus recognizing narcissistic traits in a loved one.

However, the author relies on the color personality test and refers to this often throughout the book. This can be confusing for those that are unfamiliar with the test, let alone for those that do not identify with the test. I thought this took away from the actual point of his book.

There also seemed to be a distant ... almost comical undertone in his writing. It made me feel that he didn't really understand what it was like to be in a relationship with a narcissist, let alone the traumatic aftermath. He alludes to this throughout the book but it did not come across in his writing.

Overall, I did find some useful information int his book.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the free copy of the electronic version of this book for my honest review. I am incredibly grateful to NetGalley for this opportunity.

Super interesting. Heavily based on studies and facts. I especially enjoyed the "translating narcissism" sections that share what a narcissist really means.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thanks a lot for opportunity to read this book by Thomas Erikson.
I learned a lot and understand about nature of narcissistic behavior..
Also it’s give me idea how should I need to change my behavior in future to deal with narcissism.
I would strongly recommend this book to everyone…

This book is an excellent layman's introduction to narcissism and how you can deal with narcissists you may encounter in your life. The many examples and anecdotes of this type of behavior helped me to understand what narcissism is and how I can handle it on a daily basis. I was even helped to understand some of my own narcissistic behaviors. The writing is very clear, and assuming English is not the author's first language, the author is very fluent in the text. I did find a few examples of sentences that I had to read a couple of times in order to get the meaning, but the book far and away is smooth sailing and the development of the subject is direct and logical from start to finish.

3.5 stars.

I was really enjoying this book and getting a lot of it in the first sections. I felt validated and less crazy about the two closest people in my life who I recently have come to the conclusion are both narcissists and that I somehow attract them without realizing it. I learned a lot of warning signs, and appreciated the reiteration to get as far away from them as possible. The 3rd part of the book lost me though. Ironically a lot of this section of the book sounded almost narcissistic to me. I was lost in what sounded more like complaining about the current state of affairs between adults and their children and less about learning how to stop those behaviors although there were glimpses here and there. If the 3rd section hadnt have been a part of this book, I woule have given it 4 stars.

3.5 STARS! “Surrounded by Narcissists” is one of many books I’ve read recently on the subject. I really enjoyed the author’s conversational style and humor! While I don’t think I learned anything new on the subject, there were some unique discussions of how narcissism affects different personality types. I enjoyed learning about Reds, Yellows, Greens, and Blues and how the weaknesses of each personality type would be vulnerable to manipulate by a narcissist.

I also thought the points about our culture fostering narcissism were very timely and so true! I appreciated the author’s boldness to share that if we would focus on others more than ourselves then we would see a change in our culture. I know this wasn’t a faith-based book, but I was happy to see many statements that were in line with my faith!

If you haven’t read a book on the subject of narcissism, and it’s increasing prevalence today- I would definitely recommend this as an interesting read! My only regret with the book overall is the thought that we should rarely try to “out” a manipulative and narcissistic person, and the authors main advice was to run away. (Although there is a section on how to confront a manipulative person, distance was seen as preferable to confrontation). And again, I know this is not a faith-based book, but I would be eager to read how to handle such a person in terms of how the Bible sees these people. I think there’s a very good argument that the Pharisees fit the bill for narcissistic individuals. And we could learn a lot from Christ’s handling of them.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!