Patric Gagne’s memoir is a fierce, heartfelt exploration of her life as a sociopath. She takes her time explaining her vilified and misunderstood diagnosis, walking the reader through the ways it impacted her as a child and all the way into adulthood. She describes each season of her life through the way her sociopathy impacted it, giving readers a multifaceted look at sociopathic apathy and stress. Her explanations of the disorder can be a bit repetitive, but I think it’s necessary to help readers understand sociopathy better. Patric’s story is fascinating and I’m glad she chose to write and publish it. I learned a lot and it gave me great empathy for people who live with this diagnosis.

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Wow! This was so interesting hearing first had from Patric and her journey and curiosity around sociopaths. When she realized the characteristics of the mental health disorder resonated with her, she opted to further expand her knowledge around the topic and how it affects her. Watching her understanding of the situation grow and how to find the balance was very eye opening. For instance rather than breaking and entering, she got some satisfaction of sitting outside and watching a person or home rather than actually doing something illegal. Overall so interesting, highly recommend!

This is a fascinating read that stretches the bounds of what most people know about sociopathy. While the word has a negative connotation that many associate with evil, Gagne clarifies that it's really about lack of feeling, particularly in situations where people experience heightened emotions. Society has ostracized those who don't have "normal" responses to situations and stimuli, but really sociopaths just have different reactions than the majority of the population. Different does not need to be synonymous with "bad."

Gagne couldn't find someone who could treat her disorder, so she became a therapist herself, making it her life's work to ingest everything there was to know about sociopathy. Where the literature didn't exist, she experimented herself. No doubt this book will help so many people feel seen, validating that they are not a bad person just because they don't react to situations like everyone else.

Along the way, Gagne finds love with someone who truly sees her--who has always seen her, exactly as she is. The enduring feeling of the book is one of hope--that those who are unfairly maligned can lead a full life, overflowing with love and yes, feeling.

A candid and unflinching memoir of what it’s like to grow up as a sociopath, the author pulls no punches as she invites readers into her mind and perspective. Anyone who has had a sociopath/psychopath in their life will find much of what she shares disconcerting, as she often reveals that things were almost always much, much more dangerous than her family and friends ever imagined. Her penchant for blaming others and expecting the world to adapt to her was a surprising revelation. Overall, an important book for awareness.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

Absolutely fantastic book! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Five stars. Right away I was inside the mind of Patric as a young child going to school, loving her Mom and baby sister and feeling she was different. It was fascinating to read her descriptions of what she was experiencing as a young girl and the urges she had to try and quiet her mind. Well done. Honest, smart, and intriguing to learn Patric’s story about being a sociopath.

An engrossing memoir and glimpse into the complexities and nuances of sociopathy told via one woman’s story. The writing is compelling - darkly humorous, tense, and moving. It was interesting to see Patric’s view of the world and to observe how others in her orbit react to and engage with her once they know she is a sociopath.

Really thought-provoking - I was surprised to learn how under-researched sociopathy is and admire Patric’s quest to conduct more research and offer a fuller and more empathetic picture of it. Recommended to anyone looking to learn more about sociopathy (or maybe unlearn everything you think you know about sociopathy).

Thank you very much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I really liked reading this book. I was quite absorbed by it. I (ironically?) feel like I have more empathy now towards sociopaths and a better understanding of them. I think the author says some very smart, insightful things in this memoir. I think a lot of people should read it, but especially people who think (or know) that they're sociopaths as well, and the family of people who are. And if you're involved in psychiatry/psychology at all, you definitely should be reading it.

3.5. This is a really hard one to rate. I don’t know where to begin. I hated being in Patric’s mind. It was relentless and restless. Her voice is unrelentingly and real, but she’s so different. It’s a difficult brain to live, in even temporarily. Definitely an insightful book, but also one that doesn’t relax, as a classroom teacher, I could use some excerpts, very sure.

I was blown away by this book. From the very beginning Patric is honest about how being a sociopath impacted her childhood and relationships. Instead of being dense with psychology jargon and statistics, Sociopath balances fact with storytelling.

This book would do wonders for people who still perpetuate stigmas against mental conditions and illnesses. I can’t wait until this book come out next year, and I’m telling all my friend’s to pre order it!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

A memoir on the misunderstood mental disorder of sociopathy written by a sociopath who has a PhD in clinical psychology? Um, yes. Sign me up.

Throughout her childhood, Patric knew that she was different but she didn’t have the words to explain why. She didn’t feel fear, guilt, and empathy like the rest of her peers and the only way to relieve herself of the intense pressure that she felt in her head was to do something that she knew was wrong: lie, steal, enter peoples’ homes without permission. It wasn’t until she went to college and landed in a psychology class that she learned the word “sociopath” and everything began to fall in to place. From here, Patric began her astonishing journey towards self-discovery.

This memoir is so incredibly well written and is wildly informative. Gagne’s stories and experiences are interesting, shocking and eye-opening, challenging the reader to examine their own views and beliefs of sociopathy. I learned so much that I didn’t know before. Whether you think (or know) that you have sociopathy or whether you don’t, this is an incredible read regardless. I was glad to see that Gagne included how she eventually learned to cope with her sociopathy with the help of CBT and other modalities of therapy. I believe any sociopath (or person who loves a sociopath, for that matter) reaching for this book will find the information helpful. I dare say that anyone out there dealing with sociopathic behaviors and tendencies will feel relief as they read this memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley for my digital copy! Out 04/02/2024!

Sociopath is a powerful, eye opening memoir by Patric Gagne about how she experiences the world as a diagnosed sociopath. The book begins in her early life, when she and her family first notice something is a bit "off" about her behavior at home and school—and spans decades into her adult life. Struggling to fit in, constantly comparing herself to everyone else who seem to feel feelings and experience love, she goes on to study psychology at UCLA, establish a career in the music industry, and eventually earn her PhD in clinical psychology. Throughout it all, she wonders if love and stability are possible after reuniting with someone from her youth. Gagne's unflinching storytelling made me cringe, laugh, and cry, offering a unique look at what it's like to live with this diagnosis. She strikes a nice balance between telling her own story and giving readers a chance to learn about the history and reality of sociopathy—something I really appreciated throughout this memoir. I am so grateful to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC! I look forward to picking up a hard copy when it comes out in April.

This novel was very needed and an eye opener to a subject that has always fascinated me. The author has written her thoughts extremely well and shows us her insights on her situation. This book makes sociopathy relatable in a certain way and I enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for the free copy of this book!

I really enjoyed learning about sociopathy and thinking about it in a different way. I almost wished this was more of a clinical book though than a memoir, I found the topic interesting but didn’t think the writing was anything special, at best, and was often cliche and left cliff hangers that seemed unnecessary,

This book has been needed for a long time. I highly recommend all people read it, but particularly those in mental health, healthcare and business. Sociopathy has been misunderstood for such a long time and I'm so glad Gagne is getting her story out there. In particular, I love the story about how she met her husband and their relationship.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

From an incredibly young age, Patric Gagne knew she was different. Unable to express, or feel, the same emotions as her fellow children, Gagne struggled to fill the void where those emotions should be. Acting out by petty theft, breaking and entering, and (in one instance) physical violence, Gagne realized she could break through the intense pressure in her mind and... breathe.

Both griping and educational, Patric Gagne's SOCIOPATH offers a glimpse into Gagne's life as a person with sociopathy. Her journey from lonely child to clinical psychologist was not only fascinating but heartbreaking-- to read Gagne describe her innate desire to <i> feel </i> but also strive to understand why she <i> couldn't </i> was poignant.

Gagne has an impressive self-awareness and ability to discuss her emotions and thought process, which added an incredible amount of depth to each part of her story. SOCIOPATH was highly educational for anyone wanting a first-person perspective on sociopathy and provides valuable insight into a severely underserved population.

Besides being an engaging memoir, this also helps the average person understand what a sociopath is and is not. This helps us to relate to a condition that is more prevalent than most of us even know. My biggest criticism is that it becomes slightly repetitive, more examples are given than are necessary, and it loses impact because of it.

The author shares with us her life as a psychopath.An amazing look a raw intimate eye opening look into her world .Really interesting eye opening and informative.#netgalley #simon&schuster

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book. I learned more about sociopathy than I ever thought possible within the pages of this memoir. Kudos to Gagne for such a difficult yet important book. All I can say is wow, this one is an eye-opener.

As someone with a master's in counseling, I've certainly talked about some of the therapeutic theories and approaches that Gagne talks about in later chapters as she seeks support and treatment. But, I've never worked in that actual capacity, so hearing about how skilled she became as a clinician, ultimately taking on the harder to treat cases, was phenomenal. I loved that she wound up studying herself - using herself as research- in order to figure out the best way to support herself. To put a stop to the destructive behavior she was exhibiting. And to ultimately get married, have long-standing friendships, have children, etc. I always find it interesting to see a clinician, who is living something like sociopathy, not agree with the DSM and other psychologists. Her inability to actually find good information about how this manifests and how to treat it was astounding.

If you love memoirs, or books about rarely discussed psychological disorders, this is a great book to dive into.

I this book is the real deal. Forget, whatever you’ve seen on TV or in the movies, this is an honest glimpse inside the mind of a sociopath with a PhD, and therefore psychologically minded. If you work in mental health, or are just curious about her this diagnosis, this is invaluable. She’s not a monster, she’s just a person who’s had to learn how to adapt her Neurodivergence. Should be required reading in psychology 101.