This memoir is a surprisingly fast read. Patric is a doctor (Ph.D.), wife, mother, and sociopath. “I’m a liar. I’m a thief. I’m emotionally shallow. I’m mostly immune to remorse and guilt. I’m highly manipulative. I don’t care what other people think.”

As a child she would feel the tension build up and would do things that would seem strange to most of us: Stabbing a child with a pencil. Stealing things she didn’t want. Entering people’s homes when they weren’t there. Because she has no fear, she was almost kidnapped by a guy who said he had kittens—her younger sister knew to run away, but Patric wanted a kitten and only saved herself at the last second. On the one hand, what would life be like without fear? On the other hand, fear can keep us safe. She wasn’t completely immune from emotions, but they were muted, and trying to mimic what she thought people wanted to see exhausted her.

I’ve watched the NetFlix documentaries about those people who have no problem lying, faking identities, screwing people over financially and/or emotionally—I understand a little better after reading this book.

According to several studies, sociopaths comprise nearly five percent of the population, about the same percentage of those who have panic disorder. “It seems crazy that a condition affecting millions wasn’t given greater attention by the psychological association.”

Her main point is that sociopaths can learn emotions that are instinctive to the rest of us, unlike psychopaths, for whom the threat of punishment doesn’t work at all.

“Psychopaths are believed to suffer from brain abnormalities. It’s why they make the same mistakes over and over. They are biologically incapable of learning from punishment or understanding remorse.” Sociopaths, “appear to be more capable of evolution.”

“Mass media references rubber-stamped sociopaths as loathsome villains with few exceptions.”

Part of the problem is that sociopaths, psychopaths, and people antisocial personality disorder can sometimes get grouped together in academic studies about these folks, so regular folks equate all sociopaths as evil like Ted Bundy.

“Most sociopaths aren’t like characters in movies. They don’t resemble the serial murderers in Killing Eve or Dexter.”

Patric is a white woman who never had to worry about money. She had access to education, and her passion for understanding why she was different ultimately led her to getting a Ph.D. She worked hard to live with her condition, obviously not sociopath is going to do that.

Thinking about the 5% statistic, I think back to clients I’ve had and guys I’ve gone on a few dates with, and I wonder . . .

I enjoyed reading this. It’s thought-provoking. NetGalley provided an advance copy of this book, which RELAESES APRIL 2, 2024.

From the moment I downloaded this one, I couldn't put it down! Gagne has a true gift of words - she gives us a raw, intimate, and fascinating look at her learning journey about her own sociopathy. While not an easy read, "Sociopath" provided a lot of insight into her world, encouraging patience and understanding in her reading - I do not struggle with the same type of mental illness, but it made me think about how to better approach and support my friends, family, and students who need it. Thank you so much for sharing this story and providing this ARC!

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne is a fascinating look at what life is like for someone living with the author’s personality disorder. I appreciated the author’s honesty when describing the struggles she faced/continues to face due to her sociopathy. I think this book does a great job of helping others learn what sociopathy really is, rather than the portrayals we see in fiction. This is a great memoir for anyone to read, particularly anyone with an interest in mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 One of the most outstanding books I've ever read! Thank you to Patric, for letting us into to your thoughts and experiences, so that the reader can better understand sociopathy. I was deeply enthralled while reading this book because there is so much about sociopathy that isn't readily available; mostly just preconceived ideas. Then to hear about first-hand accounts from a sociopath, who allows us a snapshot of her thoughts and behaviors, all while she is acutely aware of what is occurring in each situation. This is a book of hope for sociopaths and those who love them. I applaud Patric as she devotes her life to helping other sociopaths. I love reading different points of view about subjects I don't know much about. This book is chock full of information and I felt like I was taking a psychology class with case-studies. This book could be the equivalent of a semester of a grad level psych class! Did I mention this is also compulsively readable? Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschusterbooks for this epub. Thank you @patricgagne for bearing your soul and helping readers to understand more about sociopathy.

This book was very prolific for me personally. As someone who works with kids that have various mental health issues, it was very enlightening. It helped me to understand their brains and struggles a bit more. Patric's inner monoloue and description of the juxtaposition inside her head were very eye opening. Her writing and storytelling was engaging and made for a great read. I have already told several friends and coworkers about this book!

Well, that was uncomfortable.

I finished reading Sociopath several days ago, and I still can’t find the words to describe how I feel about it.

Throughout the entire book, I felt an underlying unease about what I was reading. I was mentally flinching at parts, fascinated by some aspects, occasionally saddened, and sometimes a little bored with the pace and repetition. Always, though, was the creeping sense of discomfort.

I wish the author had given us a timeline to orient us in the story. I would have liked a sense of the years in which this all took place, especially regarding the way diagnoses and treatments have evolved. As written, she obscures everything relating to dates and identities.

In the end, I learned a lot, but I was also left with questions. It’s absolutely a book that will stick with me, and that’s never a bad thing.

*Thanks to Simon Books for the free copy.*

Memoirs like this I just plow through because I find the life of the person so different and interesting from my own.

I love that Patric was aware of the dangerous, unhealthy habits she had and wanted to figure out how to protect herself. She didn't understand why she was so different from everyone else. She spent hours in the library researching what a sociopath is and determined there was still so much we didn't know about them.

They always say you should write the books you want to read. And I think Patric did a wonderful job of putting together a source for other people that would help them understand themselves or maybe someone in their life. Unique perspectives are what makes memoirs interesting. You have to bring something new to the table. I found myself sharing some of her stories with my husband and work colleagues.

I definitely recommend Sociopath if you are interested in unbelievable memoirs and mental health. Thank you to NetGalley, Patric Gagne, and Simon and Schuster. I have written this review voluntarily.

Sociopath was just an "okay" read for me. I prefer fiction, but that is only part of the reason I didn't really love this book. The topic was interesting enough, however, it was difficult to understand the author's point. A book whose main purpose seems to be explaining how the author feels "differently" than other people is problematic by its very nature. I mean, how does anyone know how anyone else "feels," any way? We can all only feel the way we feel and it is impossible to experience emotions in the way other people do. This is why feelings of "being an outsider," "not belonging," and loneliness can plague any of us at various times in our lives. Secondly, and more particularly, after all the attempts to explain herself in an effort to make the reader understand her differences.... I still don't feel like I really understand. I still don't understand what makes the narrator tick, and I still don't understand the nature of her attachments/ relationships. It was an odd story, and, to me, it fell a bit flat. I would recommend to patrons looking for an unusual memoir or who asked specifically for memoirs about sociopathy/mental illness.

This was an interesting read, although I wish there would have been more about the science being sociopathy and psychopathy. It would have bolstered the weight of the memoir in my opinion. As it was, this was a good read and I’ll be interested to see what the author does next.

I think this book came from a very unique and interesting perspective that not everyone could do. It did feel a bit like “I’m not like other girls”

I really struggled with the book and almost did not finish it. While I always enjoy memoirs and have read a number of books by people who write about mental health, this book really wasn’t for me. I did find it interesting to read about sociopathy; how it is misunderstood and the lack of treatment options. One of my problems in connecting with the book is that I had no sense of a timeline. I never knew what year it was. For me the car stealing, breaking into homes, and “bad behavior” was really dragged out. The last section of the book Part IV was the most interesting part of the book. Which brings me back to the timeline, did the therapy and treatment only happen in the last few years, recently? All of a sudden Patric and David are working with Dr Carlin, they get married, they have kids and she writes the book. The end felt rushed, would have loved to read more about that part of the process. Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC #SimonBooks #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC of this memoir in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: 4/2/2024

Rating: 4.5 stars

I enjoyed this fascinating memoir about sociopathy, and really learned a lot about the nuances of this label as well as my own previous perceptions of it (i.e. Dexter).

The author is brutally honest about her experience growing up realizing she's a sociopath. I think perhaps too much time was spent on her young adulthood, and I really would've liked to read more about her feelings as a young mother. The section on motherhood was very brief at the end, and almost felt like an epilogue.

I also thought the author had the tendency to repeat herself throughout the memoir. She brought up phrases like "stuck stress" quite a bit, and I think a slightly tighter edit would clean up some of the repetition.

Overall, this was an excellent read, and I applaud the author for being brave enough to tell her story so unapologetically. I think she will the bridge in teaching the larger public about sociopathy and hopefully, improving the research/diagnostics.

Patric Gagne offers a striking look into a world that has long been misunderstood. Ironically, her story of sociopathy expanded my ability to empathize in ways I haven't before. 5 stars!

very well written memoir discussing the plight of sociopaths from a societal standpoint, written by someone who's both someone with sociopathy and a PhD psychologist. thanks for the arc.

Sociopath: A Memoir was a fascinating book. I appreciated the author’s openness about herself and the socially inappropriate things she has done and felt or failed to feel. I also appreciated her willingness to embrace that she is a sociopath and find the positives in something that society views as very negative. Her research into sociopaths and her ideas about why sociopaths are the way they are and how they can cope with their apathy/lack of feeling was interesting. The author amply demonstrates that sociopaths are more diverse and nuanced than what is reflected in popular perception and even among mental health professionals. Some of the misdeeds she admits to are shocking/surprising, while others are quite amusing. Of particular interest to me was her discussion of anxiety and how her anxiety about situations or about not reacting to events the way people expect her to lead to destructive behavior as a means to alleviate the anxiety.

I read a pre-publication copy of this book. I read it in two sittings! I was fascinated throughout. It has been a while since I read a book I couldn't put down. It is skillfully written, both in reference to structure and sequence as well as to vocabulary and word choice. I wondered at times if the author's self-perception and memory were always accurate, as the events described seemed somewhat flamboyant to have escaped public notice and censure. This is a book I will continue to think about.

This memoir is fantastic. I feel like it was well written and i really got to see the world through the eyes of the writer. I am glad that she has found peace.

Patric Gagne knew she wasn’t like other children from the beginning. It wasn’t until college she got a name for what she’d been feeling. Or not feeling. Sociopath.
As a child she stabbed another kid with a pencil, as a college student she developed a penchant for stealing cars. I found myself worrying about her consequences as if I knew her.
We follow her from her childhood until diagnosis, adulthood, and motherhood, learning everything she can about sociopathy along the way. She has a PhD in psychology after all. Who better to tell this story?
By the end she’s found ways to cope and I found the last chapter to be especially beautiful.
A much needed voice on this topic. I loved even the uncomfortable moments. Start to finish.

Patric’s story captivated me from the first chapter and I was excited to pick the book up each time to learn more. She did a compelling job explaining the life of a sociopath which created such empathy for those with a mental illness. While I hadn’t thought much about sociopathy, this book really helped me better understand the illness and reminded me not to make assumptions or generalizations. Gagne is a fascinating person and her pursuit of education for understanding is very inspiring.

DNF @ 30%

Love a good memoir but I really couldn't get into this. I felt like a lot of the same things were being said over and over and over again and we really weren't moving anywhere. Every time I set this down I never felt any urge to pick it back up again. I have nothing against Gange herself. I really admire her putting herself out there in this way and I appreciate what she's trying to do here. But the writing isn't for me.