Thomas Erikson's SURROUNDED BY ENERGY VAMPIRES retreads the tired, well-traveled, deep rutted roads blazed many years ago by Judith Orloff and others, now a commonly used terms in every day life. Erikson presents clear and cogent examples along with many anecdotes to make his points, however, a longer view and deeper perspective might have revealed something new and interesting. I was unable to finish the book, done with the simplistic models and force fitting situations to fit his point of view. Ultimately, it felt less than useful to think of oneself as having to defend oneself from others than to live differently and see the others differently, as well written a book as it might have been. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was quite dry for me. I struggled to get through it due to being extremely bored. This was especially disappointing for me because the topic is an interesting one, the writing just made it seem dull.

I don't agree with all the things stated in this book. However, there are some things in this book that I thought were pretty good. In my opinion, this book would be better for self-reflection than actually dealing with Energy Vampires.

I was disappointed in this book. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from Thomas Erikson's Surrounded by Narcissists.. This book did very little to help me. The majority of the info is about the energy vampires overstating what we have seen in person with very little why. The DISC theory will tell you who will and won't get along. But there was very little on how to work/be in a relationship with him. Usually, there is only manner to deal with them and you have to give up your integrity to do so. I understand having to play their game to some extent but this is ridiculous.

Surrounded by Energy Vampires: How to Slay the Time, Joy, and Soul Suckers in Your Life by Thomas Erikson delves into the individuals and circumstances that have the potential to disrupt your concentration, complicate projects, or simply make life more challenging. Erikson equips readers with practical and effective strategies to navigate these draining situations, enhance communication, and protect their energy reserves.

Surrounded by Energy Vampires is a non-fiction resource that furthers the ideas discussed in the author’s previous book, Surrounded by Idiots. This book breaks down the different types of “energy vampires” one might encounter not only at their place of work but throughout any part of their daily life. The author gives examples of how to diffuse various situations and better understand each type of “vampire”.

While the book is broken down by different types of “energy vampires” and their supporting material, the chapters are quite long. I would highly suggest annotating as you read to help further divide up each section. This will make it much easier to find anything you may want to come back to.

Surrounded by Energy Vampires is a valuable asset for anyone working in an office environment.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Essentials!

This is excellent,excellent,excellent book.
Author gives guidelines about people surrounding us in every day life,
even interestingly describes each group of people by color-Red,Blue,Green and Yellow…
I found in examples throughout the book myself dealing with the energy vampires in my life…
I’m very grateful for letting me read this book,I would strongly recommend for anyone…
Thanks to Thomas Erikson for great work…

Surrounded by Energy Vampires breaks down personality types with easy-to-understand examples and offers advice on how to handle varying personalities. I don't read self-help/psychology books often and I was pleasantly surprised at how comprehensive Thomas Erikson was able to make this novel. Throughout the novel I found myself drawing parallels from the examples to situations and relationships in my own life. I would recommend this novel to anyone who may be struggling to interact with the "energy vampires" in their lives.

Let's be real. One of the main reasons this book appealed to me and made me pick it up was the use of the term Energy Vampires. I am a fan of What We Do in the Shadows, and Colin is my favorite character. I was curious about some real life help dealing with people who sap the strength from you, seemingly on purpose. Although it's fairly obvious this is more of an opinion based theory and less about science or research, I enjoyed the tips and tricks for dealing with the people you encounter in your day to day life that rob you of joy and time and strength and mental health. Certainly worth a read for the humor, it contains little advice that you couldn't come up with for yourself. But, you know, sometimes it's enough to have someone confirm what you know.

This book was pretty tough to get through. The writing style was good but the content was simply missing. This didn’t feel grounded in medical or scientific research. It felt like negativity and against people who were energy suckers. Which, I’m always down for commiserating and disliking people but this is supposed to be support of understanding and explanation. I felt like this fueled my dislike for these people and wasn’t helpful in any way. I didn’t even get to finish it because I found this made me feel like a worse person and not ways to continue to grow and adjust.

The info shared in this book does not appear necessary or entrenched in medical research. At times, the author's tips for dealing with people are laughable. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this and don't want to continue reading it to find out whatever ridiculousness he has to say. I didn't make it pass the fourth chapter. I liked Thomas Erickson's book, Surrounded by Idiots but I believe he should have stopped there. This was an interesting topic that had promise, but the author, it sounds like, does not have the experience--life or professional--to advise people on dealing with energy vampires nor has anything profound to speak of, on this subject.

I hoped this was going to be a self-help book. Instead, I found a mishmash of confusing, negative descriptions of people you may run into, without any context given or allowed for. The author uses a form of DISC to form his opinions, but it's difficult to tell if this book is supposed to help the reader or give a grocery list of what's wrong with everyone else. Having worked in learning and development for decades, I don't disagree with everything the author says, but I was hoping to read about some positive ways to work with people with vastly different work styles and preferences than myself. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with most of what the author had to say or how he said it.

Erikson uses a four color behavior code to classify personalities and how they might react to some of the energy vampires.(I have read other books that use this term, and this book is somewhat different. He discusses perfectionists, drama queens, bullies, passive-aggressive behavior, eternal victims, narcissists, whiners, and know-it-alls. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Surrounded by Energy Vampires: Or, How to Slay the Time, Energy and Soul Suckers in Your Life by Thomas Erikson

From the perfectionist, drama queen, unstoppable tyrant, passive-aggressive, eternal victim, to the narcissist, Erikson lays it all out there for you to see where these whack-a-doodles suck the life out of you. I am most afraid of the passive-aggressive!!! Yikes! He uses the four colors to also compare how these personality traits can drain on their counterparts. (It is also a good reminder to be mindful of your own naughty- soul sucking tendencies you inflict on others!)

I haven't read his other books, but I plan to do it right away! Again, I am an audiobook connoisseur and look forward to this read with my ears. You can buy your own copy October 3, 2023

Overall, I am very happy to have read Surrounded by Energy Vampires. Thank you St. Martin’s Essentials for this advanced reader’s copy!
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Interesting concepts and advice, although I don't know that I'm the intended reader. Either way, it was certainly educational. This is a popular topic among patrons at my library, so we will definitely be purchasing.