Kaminski has created a word for what he considers a third personality type, otrovert. These basically just seem like deep thinkers to me, and introverts. I think he makes some untrue and harmful assumptions about introverts, and seems to want to create a whole new category of personality rather than consider himself one. Ultimately, while I relate to much of what he describes as an otrovert, I didn’t come to the same conclusions that he did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for access to this title. I am auto-approved by this publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Dr. Rami Kaminski, M.D. presents the idea of a personality trait that he refers to as "otrovert", an individual that he describes as an eternal outsider in a communal world. Referring to cases of patients that Kaminski has worked with over the years, in short chapters, readers are introduced to the many characteristics of people that belong to this personality trait.

Otroverts( in summary):
Have an affinity for adults over peers
Have a curious and inventive mind
Popular but have very few close confidants
Happier when left alone
Do not want to attend organized events
Unusually considerate and generous
Careful and risk-averse
Do not do well with change


I am not a high school teacher and I don't have a medical background. So, I had no expectations going into this book beyond my curiosity. That being said, I don't have any criticisms either. The chapters were easy to read and the vocabulary wasn't filled with unfamiliar medical jargon. There were some instances where repetition was present. However, that doesn't detract from what was an interesting concept. I liked the chapters that discuss how parents of otrovert children can help support them. At the end of the book is a little survey of statements to see if you fit the personality trait.

All these years as an introvert, I have been chasing the extrovert lifestyle. Perhaps the personality trait I should have been chasing is otrovert?


Genres: Health, Mind and Body/Self-Help
#TheGiftofNotBelonging #NetGalley
Expected Publication 17/06/25
Goodreads Review 14/12/24

Rating: 2.5

Most people are familiar with the terms “extrovert” and “introvert”, and many are aware that these personality types were first identified by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. A few years back, Susan Cain attempted and, I think, succeeded in rehabilitating the idea of introversion, which has always had a bad rap. At best, the introvert was regarded as shy, diffident individual, afraid of her own shadow. At worst, he was the lone gunman responsible for multiple casualties at one US school or another. You know: the quiet one who always kept to himself, the one the neighbours always wondered about. In her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, Cain traced how the preference for the pro-social, outgoing, party-loving extrovert came to be viewed as the norm for the emotionally healthy American adult. She also detailed the strengths and value of those with a quieter approach to being in the world, people who required solitude, enjoyed their own company, and were drained by too much time with others.

Now, Israeli-American psychiatrist Rami Kaminski has devoted a whole book to another personality type that he’s apparently come upon many times in his four decades of practice. He calls this type the “otrovert”. Honestly? I don’t buy it. To me, Kaminski has made a critical error or two. He appears to have assumed that introversion is invariably accompanied by shyness. The otrovert, he makes clear, is not shy. While introverts are as concerned about being accepted by others and “belonging” as extroverts are, Kaminski writes, from Day 1 the otrovert, feels like an outsider, failing to identify with any group, and feeling no sense of belonging. Indisposed to small talk, the otrovert engages in deeper conversations even with strangers, forges strong, close friendships with individuals, and is preternaturally observant and intelligent. This type values his own company, but he’s not shy or retiring (the hallmarks of the introvert, according to Kaminski). Even though the otrovert is depleted by social events and communal rituals, people might actually take him for an extrovert.

Kaminski provides thumbnail sketches of many of his past patients, but his theory doesn’t seem to rest on any actual research. There’s no science here. Just long and fairly idealized descriptions of this personality type. (Did I mention that the author identifies as one?) Among other things, there’s advice to parents about what to do if they’ve got an otrovert child. The advice isn’t bad, but it applies equally well to parents dealing with an introverted kid. That’s because, in my mind at least, otroverts don’t exist. They’re just variations on introverts. Kaminski also asserts that because the otrovert’s entire life has been a “solitary journey”, he or she is is more equipped to deal with death. Knowing that togetherness was only an illusion, otroverts don’t struggle with their demise as “communal” people do. There is, of course, nothing much to back up this claim (beyond the author’s report about a wise, elderly patient). And this points to the big problem with Kaminski’s book. There’s really nothing objective to support his clinical observations: no neuroimaging, no cognitive studies, or anything else to convince the reader that he’s on to something.

One thing that I did find valuable is Kaminski’s observation that deep understanding of oneself and one’s own needs (independent of what the group imposes) and acceptance of one’s difference from others can bring contentment. It is wonderful to know that with practice one can learn to rely on the remarkable resources within. So I did appreciate the author’s emphasis on self knowledge. I think he’s right that many are unaware of themselves. Their busyness, while distracting and seemingly protective, can be harmful.

This book was a quick enough and occasionally interesting read—and a few may even see themselves in his descriptions. In the end, however, I’m doubtful that The Gift of Not Belonging is going to bring about a revolution in the study of personality types.