Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne 📚😨 Review & Reflections

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

I always listen to memoirs too, as oppose to reading them... something about listening to the author's voice. The last one I listen to was Dave Grohl and it was AMAZING, I so recommend!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Absolutely, it makes a big difference. I’ve heard that one’s supposed to be good, I’ll seen if it’s available on my app. Thanks 😊

[@awebofstories]

Thank you for this review! I've been on the hold list for this book for MONTHS! I can't wait to read it.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

You're welcome! 😁 Glad you liked it! I hope you can get your hands (or ears!) on it soon, I thought it was very enjoyable!

[@insertmyidentityhere]

Don't waste your precious time.....😂

[@BonnieNicoleWrites]

This book sounds like such an interesting read! I find the dialogue surrounding the book and her story quite interesting. I really appreciate how you talked about empathy, understanding her, lying, and all of the nuanced pieces of the conversation.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yea I highly recommend! It’s a really good time and then you can turn things over in your head for a really long time haha 😂 Thank you so much, I appreciate that! There are so many aspects to it so it was hard to do all of it justice (and I left out a lot) but I tried, so thank you for saying that 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

This sounds fascinating. I am intrigued. I heard her interviewed, I think when the book first came out, on NPR, and I had a lot of questions. Does she talk at all in the memoir on her thoughts or feelings about the root or cause of her sociopathy? Does she talk about her earliest relationships with her caregivers? Just curious....

[@ellenmadebookclub]

It is fascinating! And very thought-provoking. I've seen more reviews since I filmed this, and there are so many aspects to discuss, or turn over and over in your head if you're so inclined :D Some seem to believe everything she says and almost pity her. Someone said she's just autistic, and others contradict themselves a bit, simultaneously criticising her for embellishing in a memoir, and also saying things like "she must have an amazing memory to remember all of these sitcom level conversations"... as if the embellishments were suddenly reality. So no matter the facts, it is quite polarizing and fascinating. She does talk about her relationship with her parents growing up, and in adult life, and as fas as I can remember she doesn't put that as the reason for the way she is, but they also didn't exactly help. She also has a younger sister who is "normal". So it's not what you might see in a typical true crime documentary where a child was abused and grew up to be an abuser. Which is also an intesting topic, but that's perhaps for another time. I would highly recommend reading it, or listening to it. It is entertaining but also has a lot of depth, especially on a more general level, regardless of what one might think of her as a person. If I were still in school, I could pick out plenty of topics for essays from this book! ^^

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@ellenmadebookclub Thanks for this thoughtful response. I'm very interested....I am going to resist right now, for June, because I'm already taking on so much to read, but I have added this to my books to read sometime soon....Thank you!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@BookChatWithPat8668 Of course, you'll get to it when you get to it! 😊

[@GS-gd4yc]

I listened to this book, and I didn’t read any reviews or comments by the author before hand. It’s interesting because I did get the feeling about halfway through the book that some of the memoir is factionalized, because she openly admits to being manipulative. I purchased the book because all cluster B disorders are interesting to me. My daughter is cluster B, a mix of borderline, narcissistic and antisocial. I am always looking for ways to consume text about cluster B disorders that will help me gain insight and help me be more compassionate toward my daughter. The way this book is written, definitely helped me do this. Especially the parts where she explains how she struggled so hard as a kid to figure out how to act to be acceptable to her family. I’ve watched my daughter struggle and know absolutely that she is different from other people and doesn’t know how to be accepted. And the pressure is something that usually lands my daughter doing risky things and then lands her in the hospital. I think the idea that Patric may be fabricating some things is less disturbing to folks who are close to people are cluster B, as long as the main idea still works to make people understand how cluster B folks experience life.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@GS-gd4yc Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this book and about you and your daughter. I love how you say you look for ways to help you be more compassionate. I’m sure it’s been difficult for the both of you, and trying to meet her with empathy is such a strong sign of love. I’m sure not everyone with disorders have that attitude around them. And that not only she needs help, but you as well. So good for you, and I wish for the best for you and your daughter. I agree with you that the lying is probably harder to accept for people who don’t have a close connection to the disorder. If you just look at it morally, of course it’s wrong to lie, but if it’s medical, there has to be a different standard. I’m glad you got something positive out of reading it, that’s what I hope this book will do, regardless of what kind of person Patric is.

[@GS-gd4yc]

@@ellenmadebookclub I picked up this book based on its title. I’m very well versed in psychological disorders, not only because my daughter is diagnosed on the cluster B spectrum, but also because I have traits ( not surprising) and my husband is a psychiatrist who deals heavily in personality disorders. Our life’s work and hope is being compassionate and understanding and loving to all family and friends and patients in our respective lives that suffer with personality disorders and who long for compassion and understanding. We love our daughter without limits. And I’ll be the first to say that some days we hate her as well. So as her parents we are always grateful for text that gives us more insight into how she thinks and feels. It’s very difficult as parents to accept that some days you just don’t like your child ( my daughter is 30 years old now and it almost seems more difficult now to understand her limitations). As her parents who support her, we just are always looking for more information to help us understand her side of things. As I’ve said, my husband is a psychiatrist, but medical training lacks compassion and insight into what the cluster B afflicted brain is thinking and feeling. Thank God for people like Patric who are willing to share. My daughter is not capable, not with me.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@GS-gd4yc Thank you again for sharing your experience and perspective! More compassion can only be a good thing, as far as I can tell.

[@itsmimiduong]

If you haven't listened to "I'm Glad My Mom Died", I recommend it as well! It's a memoir about a famous child star actress & the psychological and familial abuse she went through in the industry. It is very similar to Sociopath in terms of pacing, storytelling, and feelings. I really enjoyed it and would also recommend listening to it as an audiobook! You already know my opinion about sociopath. I really enjoyed it! I didn't recognize it at the time, but yeah! I also agree it felt like the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.I love how you broke down the book. I really enjoyed listening it in your perspective! I can't believe they're trying to find proof of the author's credentials 😭Regardless, it's a memoir (IMO), so I don't find it 100% necessary?

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yes I know the one, I have it saved on audiobook as well, so I will get to that eventually! It seems awful and relly good. Haha right? There was something about it that felt so similar. Thank you for that, I feel like I could have talked about it for hours haha! Yes, it's so weird. It is a memoir, but she is also challenging the science and the diagnostics of it, so I get that people are critical. And that's a good thing, we shouldn't just take one person's word for anything, and perhaps especially not from someone who is admittedly a liar. But it's the assumptions that people make that everything she says is therefore a lie. People just say "it felt off to me" and then go down a rabbit hole of trying to find "proof" of what they already think, when they really don't have the facts themselves. Which is not usually a great way to go about things 😅 I'm not sure what to believe about any of it, but I just keep an open mind, because I'm not the right person to decide what's what.

[@books_and_bocadillos]

I really liked this memoir. I found her voice to be authentic and vulnerable. I found myself holding empathy for her and I rooted for her to find acceptance and love. ✨

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yes, me too. I'm never one to trust anyone completely, I always leave some room for critical thinking, and in this case I found myself questioning myself questioning her, because of her diagnosis. And then when I read other reviews, I found myself questioning her and myself even more, but also sort of defending her in my mind. I think it's interesting to say that she is lying because she is a sociopath, because why would she lie unless she is... I could talk about this for hours haha! Really enjoyed it though!

[@Curious-Cat]

This book sounds so interesting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I also really appreciate your point about how not everything that we learn is straight up facts, but can just be something that helps us shift our perspective. I think that is the whole essence of literature -- it's not fact (duh, it's fiction), and yet, we can still learn so much from it!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

It is! Thank you 😊 Yes, asa grayscale person it's hard for me to see things in black and white anyway haha but some people seem to have the opposite struggle, and I think that's usually more harmful. I felt the same way after university, I did learn a lot but my biggest takaway was that there is SO much I don't know. And that's also a valuable lesson ^^

[@elmossy]

This sounds like something I'd love to read! I'm not sure what the non fiction term would be, but this emmoir sound like an interesting character study. I'll have to add it to my read list! ❤

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yes, there are so many angles, I feel like I could discuss it for days 😅 It's a little bit like reality tv, where it seems superficial and outrageous, but then you get to "know" them a bit and they're people and there are relatable situations and you find yourself taking sides and then you add the diagnostics on top of that! Like guilty pleasure mixed with really interesting psychological elements... Highly recommend! 💜💜

[@TheBookHerm]

I'm reading this soon. People behave in a very fearful with people that have certain mental operating systems. I hope books like this help us become less afraid and therefore less prejudicial. Also, why would someone lie about having something that is so negatively treated. I think people who instantly feel the desire to discredit probably need to take some self reflection time.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yes you’re right, there is a lot of prejudice involved. And I think that’s inevitable when there isn’t enough information provided, it’s just how our brains work. When we only have partial info our brains fill in the rest. And the results aren’t always great. I think in this case there is cause for some of it, but I would hope that this book could be the start of something positive, whether it be understanding or treatment. I would love to hear your thoughts once you’ve read it! 😊

[@TheBookHerm]

@@ellenmadebookclub I may include it in a video but will definitely let you know my thoughts when I get to it! It’s looking like I will get to it as part of Summerween.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@TheBookHerm I’ve subscribed so hopefully I’ll see it, but you’re very welcome to let me know here! What on earth is summerween?! 😂 The first year around booktube is a whole new vocabulary

[@TheBookHerm]

@@ellenmadebookclub ahh thanks! Oh I know what you mean! I’ve only been on booktube since February and it feels like a whole new world! 😂 Summerween is a week long Readathon run by Gabby from Gabby Reads. I’ll also be doing Mermaid Marathon (run by Maci at The Brightside Girl) and Mid-year Scramble (by Margaret over at The Word N3rd)

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@TheBookHerm Yes me too! 😂 Thank you, I’ll be looking into those! 😊

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

I just watched her interview and must say that she is Not a sociopath nor a psychopath of any type and not even one of the dark triads nor cluster B conditions. She has a reduced affect which is not terrible it's actually beneficial particularly for jobs that require staying calm in difficult situations like being on the space station in orbit which is something I Could Never Ever participate in. But I saw her towards the end act very much out of empathy which didn't seem staged nor learned it was her natural compassion in interaction with the audience and the interviewer. I'm glad you view her in a better way as well. Thank you. I subscribed and gave thumbs up.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@nickidaisydandelion4044 I’m not qualified to say anything about her diagnosis, so I don’t. I think compassion and understanding are good things regardless.

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

@@ellenmadebookclub Yes I think she has compassion. The psychiatric manuals are not always correct in their definitions.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@nickidaisydandelion4044 I meant that compassion for her and other people is always a good thing, regardless of their having a diagnosis or not. Have you read her memoir?

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

@@ellenmadebookclub No I haven't read her book I came across her interview last night for the first time and clicked on it because I'm interested in psychology. Yes absolutely true one has to always be compassionate towards all people regardless of their diagnosis because they suffer.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@nickidaisydandelion4044 Gotcha! Well I highly recommend reading her memoir, very engaging and insightful!

[@MyMessyBookshelf]

This sounds intriguing!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

Yes! Highly recommend it 😊

[@Bryndisdaugtherofgunnar]

This sounds like such an interesting read!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

It is! Highly recommend, so many aspects of this is rolling around in my brain. I thought this video was long, but it doesn't give it justice in terms of how many thoughts I have about it. Also really recommend the audiobook, great experience.