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.

This hit close to my heart as I have had students in my teaching career that were going thru some of these same experiences. It was valuable to read it from the author’s point of view what she experienced “in her mind” as events in her life unfolded. I will definitely recommend this book to others.

Interesting take on sociopathy written by an actual sociopath who has also studied in the field, so can offer a unique perspective. The book follows the author’s life from elementary school through life as a music manager then as a PhD candidate as she navigates the destructive tendencies of her condition which evidences itself in a lack of compassion/empathy and a failure to process emotions (and, sometimes, an impulse to hurt people and animals, though that isn’t present here.)

The author notes that some studies say that as much as five percent of the population may be sociopathic. She notes that she knew as early as first grade of her own tendencies and felt it as a type of pressure, and that there was always an “impulse to make that nothingness stop.”

I find sociopaths fascinating so I enjoyed reading this first person account. I thought it was brave of the author to “out” herself and thought she did a good job in accessing and explaining emotions that she, herself, may have a difficult time experiencing. Recommended.

If you knew that doing bad things to people made you feel alive, perhaps you’re a sociopath also. Patric is a self proclaimed claimed sociopath who takes pleasure in hurting others. Later in life her diagnosis is confirmed by her therapist. Patric is on quest to go to school and try to find a treatment or cure for her disorder. This is an in-depth memoir on her journey and the relationships she forms. It was a little to in-depth and slow for me. Thank you @simonbooks #freebooks

Buckle up, reader. This review is going to be a roller-coaster.

Ironically, Patric Gagne's Sociopath left me feeling a lot of different things. Gagne has written a memoir of her life as a sociopath. She chronicles how she tried to live a mostly non-violent life while trying to fight urges and pressures as she becomes more and more aware just how different she feels from everyone else. There is crime, love, and music. Gagne's memoir is not meant to tell a story, necessarily. It is more of a plea for society to stop looking at sociopaths and thinking, "well, they will probably murder me if they had the chance."

Normally, I start with the good of the book but here I need to start with the bad. One disclaimer: Gagne states in a note at the beginning of the book that she had to change names, timelines, and reconstruct dialogue. What I am about to say is not in any way me questioning her integrity. However, these reconstructed conversations stretch the bounds of believability. Gagne's scenes remind me of a TV show with very good writers who consistently put the perfect words into their character's mouth. It often feels that Gagne applies what she has learned as an adult to her past self. Also, we jump from perfectly timed scene to perfectly timed scene. An episode at the end of the book felt like she was setting up the finale of a movie. I think it's important to repeat that I don't question whether approximations of what we read actually happened. My issue is that Gagne has shined the story so bright that you almost want to look away. Gagne wants the reader to understand her plight and to also see that sociopaths deserve empathy even if they can't provide that themselves. Some of her points are good, but she also has other ideas which show both a lack of accountability for herself and possibly a savior complex.

But.....

Then I kept thinking about what I was reading. It dawned on me that maybe I was holding Gagne to a higher standard than other memoirs I have read. Did I apply my suspicious eye to them or am I more suspect of Gagne because she is a sociopath? After all, don't many people think sociopaths will lie when it suits them? Would I say a cancer patient who simultaneously studies cancer cures has a savior complex? Is any of that the point?

Ultimately, no, the answers to those questions are not the point. The point was that I asked those questions. The book bounced around in my head and made me question my own views and to try and put myself in the shoes of a sociopath (as I am not one, I promise I've been checked).

This is not a perfect book. It has flaws. However, it convincingly accomplishes its goal. That is no small thing.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster.)

A thought provoking read. Rather than a pure academic review of antisocial personality, Dr. Gagne humanizes the research with her own personal experiences and the fundamental confusion and disconnect in her emotional life.

Sociopath is the memoir of Patric Gagne, where she explores her life as a sociopath in a world that did little to recognize sociopathy and even less to help those with sociopathy. Gagne's memoir is particularly unique in that she has gone on to obtain a PhD in psychology, focusing in on sociopathy in particular.

This book was incredibly fascinating, as it gives an insight into an experience incredibly difficult to understand as a non-sociopath. Patric knew she was different from a young age, as her mother would explain why things were wrong in ways that just did not click with Patric. Gagne does an incredible job of laying out how those with sociopathy do (and don't) feel differently, and while I am a psychology major myself it took this book for me to see and understand sociopaths in a human way. Gagne's goal of showing sociopaths as different from how the media portrays them is truly achieved in this memoir.

My main critique of this book is that it is somewhat not chronological. It skips around without a great explanation, and people who are important in one aspect of the book will completely disappear in another. This was confusing as a reader, but it did not take away from the ultimate goals of the book.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I usually really like memoirs. I was interested in the topic of sociopaths. The book was very different than what I was expecting. It was one of the best memoirs I have read. It changed my perception of what a sociopath is.

I work in mental health. However, the world sociopath has such a negative connotation. At the beginning of the book, I thought the author might have autism. I did see some share traits in autism.

What the book was really about was self love and acceptance. It is a journey most of us are on. None of us live the same way. Yet society tries to put us in a box. I think most of us feel we don't measure up

I think this is a wonderful book for anyone. Anyone with any kind of struggle. Realizing we don't magically transform. We are all capable of love, giving and receiving love.

It is written really well. It holds the readers interest. The chapters are not predictable. It's a fairly easy read. It shows the humanity in the author ( and most of us).

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book. I look forward to seeing more from this author.

this was a really fascinating read that taught me a lot about the darker and more misunderstood sides to mental illness. sociopathy is definitely looked at differently societally and I think this perspective is really important to share and I'm glad the memoir was written. the voice took me a sec to get used to and the aforementioned perspective is a bit of a shock at first, but I still think it's a worthwhile read.

It’s so hard to rate a memoir when it feels like you’re saying to someone “hey I don’t like your life!” if you rate it low. Luckily that wasn’t a problem with sociopath because I found it absolutely fascinating and can imagine how it felt for other people with the diagnosis to be represented. I admire that Patric chose to study her diagnosis to better learn herself and also empathy, something that doesn’t come easy at all.

A perfectly fine book, but it just didn't work for me and I can't put my finger on why. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

A fascinating book about a subject I have not read about--especially in the form of a memoir. I admired the unflinching look at mental illness by the narrator as well as the sharp drawing of all the characters in the book. A memorable read that students could learn a great deal from.

Pub Date:
04-02-24

Thank you so much @simonbooks for my gifted copy🖤

•A memoir about a woman’s life, growing up- realizing she is a sociopath and that it is something she is going to have to learn to navigate in her life. After being put in a category of “different” she proves she is not so different after all.

I really loved this memoir. It was different than any memoir I’ve ever read. I enjoyed her story and writing style. My favorite parts were about her childhood. I was so surprised she never got caught doing such wild things. It might make me sound ignorant but I really went into this book thinking I was going to be diagnosing people after lol and that is not the point of this book at all…it is educational in a very ‘take a walk in my shoes’ kind of way. If you are into psychology you would like this book a lot. I had to remind myself a lot that it was a memoir and not a fictional psychological suspense- the cover looked scary to me lol but it isn’t scary at all.

I picked up this book because the title and description sounded very interesting upon reading it however I was pleasantly surprised. This book is all about a young woman who is diagnosed with sociopathy. This book is her telling how she came to realise that and how her view of the world and different things vary greatly from the normal person. I found this book to be super interesting because it wasn't like our main character was bad she just didn't understand the consequences of her actions like a normal person would. I loved how the book was told through our authors point of view because it allowed the reader to get in insight on things that wouldn't be easily explained otherwise. It was interesting to read what could have just been our main chapter being brave was actually just her not caring about the consequences of her actions which are two very different situations. I really enjoyed as well how it wasn't all bad things that the author discussed and how she isn't a bad person she just doesn't see consequence. This is the kind of book that will really leave you questioning yourself and everyone you know for who is really hiding in pain sight? This was a super informative book but also a pleasure to read as it wasn't all clinical. This book gave me a lot of information that I didn't know before. Very good read for people who want to learn a little bit more of sociopathy or are curious how everything like that works like I am. This is the kind of memoir that will leave you thinking long after the book is closed. Great job and I'm so glad to have been given the opportunity to check it out.

This story, of a little girl trying to "tame' her bad self, was absolutely engaging and I found it so interesting. The self awareness from such a young age must have been so hard to deal with, let alone the actual mental struggles she and her family went through. I applaud this person for telling their story, I am sure someone out there will resonate with it and benefit.

This a fascinating and gripping non-fiction book. The author does a fantastic job outlining what being a true sociopath really means in society. Patric started stealing and lying at an early age. She talks about her chaotic childhood and what it was like for her growing up feeling different from her classmates. Later in life, she grew up to steal cars and break into stranger's houses. Patric isn't afraid to be frank about her upbringing. She grew up with a wealthy father, and a worried mother. She comes from money and she's aware she had every advantage to receive the best health care money can buy. If you're interested in reading about Patric's journey with being diagnosed as a sociopath then this book is for you.

SO fascinating. Gripping, unsettling, heartbreaking and hopeful - all in one book. Patric does an incredible job allowing you to live in her mind for a bit. She is honest yet relentless and paints a vivid picture.