[Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight] [By: M. E. Thomas] [January, 2014]

by M.E. Thomas

Genres: Psychology

Paperback

Reviews

[Sally Foster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve had this book in my ‘to read’ pile for a while and went in to it with relatively high expectations. Sadly I found it to be underwhelming. The book as a whole dragged and after a while felt quite repetitive and self indulgent in its recounts of seducing and ‘ruining’ people, and I generally found the author / narrator to be quite unlikeable (which I suppose isn’t wholly unintentional, but still marred my reading experience). Having said that, I did learn a fair amount about sociopaths and found it interesting to read the sociopathic perspective from someone that has been diagnosed as such.

[Stephen Selbst · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea of this book was interesting; the reality is that it was repetitive and deeply self-indulgent, endlessly boastful, coupled with justifications for the author's (and presumably other sociopaths') behaviors. I did gain an understanding of how this sociopath experiences the world, but most of the insights were in the first 50 pages. In desperate need of editing.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book draining to read and wish I’d seen other peoples 1 star reviews before purchasing it. I’m not even sure where to start… the use of metaphors and references to other literature were exceptionally misplaced. Usually the use of them would add context or increase the understanding of the point, but in this book my brain literally went ?¿. The chapters also had no purpose. Both in their titles but also the points they were making. It’s like the author placed a load of sentences on a page, but didn’t quite know what they were meant to say. I think this book was meant to make you feel more okay about sociopaths, but I’ve gone away from it thinking the author is exceptionally entitled and arrogant. I wouldn’t necessarily say they’ve painted sociopaths in a worse light, but they haven’t changed the perception of them at all due to how badly written it was. I’ve never felt so frustrated by a book. Shame it was my final one of the year!

[Femke · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a forensic psych student this book seemed very interesting to me, and I figured I would be able to gather some new insights and information on sociopaths.
The book provided neurological/biological information about the genetics of sociopaths which was very interesting, but also pretty well-known by people who already know a thing or two about sociopaths.
The connections of this information to the author’s personal life was what was interesting to me.
These connections showed me how these sociopathic genes and traits actually work in real life, and how people who experience these feel about them.
The author tends to be very repetitive in the book and so it became harder for me to get through after the fifth chapter.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I probably wouldn’t read it again or recommend it to my fellow psych students.

[Adeela Khan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish! The book has an interesting premise (suggesting an offering of insight into the mid of a sociopath, and in particular how a "functional" sociopath gets by in society undetected and the gap between how they appear and what they really think). However: it didn't live up to the expectation. About 100 pages in, it got very repetitive and self-indulgent, like listening to someone insufferable - and slightly tipsy - gloat about how great they are with very little substance or evidence to back it up, apart from being a law professor and respected in some measures academically.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this 2.8 stars. Quite interesting but at times it was painful to read

[Wendy Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I share another reviewer’s doubts as to whether the author’s claimed experiences are complete fiction or recollection. For an author who claims to be more intelligent than their readers the writing is somewhat repetitive. There are surprising inconsistencies in the narrative regarding the supportiveness of and neglect by the writer’s family and the notion of love in relation to family and friends.

It would be interesting to understand the motivation for writing the book whether to earn money or educate.

[Alina]

Dnf @12%

[Bumapotofishus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling and informative I picked up this book on a whim, expecting something entirely different but I feel like I've come out the other side more educated on Sociopaths.

The stigma attached to a sociopath is somewhat premature. Yes some sociopaths have done terrible things but so have many other people. This is definitely worth a read for a glimpse into the struggles and successes that she faces. It's interesting to see such an insightful and introspective account of oneself. Something that I think I would struggle to see in myself.

Brilliantly written and I'm glad I continued to the end even if some of the language got a little bit academic for me at one point.

Bravo!

[Tanya Naydukh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t finish this book, the narcissism supposedly we see in sociopaths was present throughout this book :) I don’t need this in my reading, thank you

[Ekaterina Baranova · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning of this book I was shocked by the author's openness. It was very interesting for me to go deep into the mind of sociopath, her motivation and life priorities. My English is not very good, so I translated every word and it didn't bother me because I liked the book.
In the middle of it I realized that I was reading the same thing over and over again and stopped using the dictionary to finish reading faster. I think that book can have more clear structure and more unique ideas in every chapter.
To recap, it is a pretty unique book, but 90% of its ideas can be obtained from the first chapters.

[Cay Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to read as someone with a background in Psychology.

Interesting the differences the writer draws between rationality and morality or ethics. Seems to link everything back to a sociopath being inherently selfish and everything they do is based on how that action can benefit them and how they are really just being practical and taking advantage of opportunities - defensive, but felt at times the writer contradicted themselves.

Found it hard to read at times as it was long winded. Felt points were often repeated and sometimes the analogies made the point even harder to understand - felt very over complicated to make the reader feel like they were less smart than the writer.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book because it is a topic I realized I know nothing about. The autobiography breaks down the true characteristics of sociopaths through intriguing and well written personal anecdotes. I took one star off because it gets slightly repetitive. Also the author definitely displays the sociopathic characteristics that she describes, which I find to be unsurprising but in a good way. It allows the reader to get more into her head and thought process for better understanding of what she is teaching.

[Sanah Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and fascinating. The existence of sociopaths and psychopaths in society. The ideas of how nurture and upbringing could be fundamental in helping sociopaths and psychopaths to be a working part of society.

Though the author comes off as very “full of herself” her insights are beyond interesting. Her level of self-study and awareness of her own “psychological condition” I found intriguing.

This book makes you think. About your family, friends, co-workers, basically everybody you know…

[Grace Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Female law professor under the pen name of M. E. Thomas, expresses a part confessional memoir and part educational analysis for the curious on being a sociopath.

Prepare for a journey where you step into the mind of a sociopath, revealing what makes them tick while debunking myths about sociopathy and offering a road map for dealing with the sociopaths in your life.

Educating, inspiring and emotional. I read this in a day it was that good! The way Thomas describes behaviour vs. mental state is sharp. Not for the weak, but for those who are curious this is for you!

[Rosie Ogborn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe you know a sociopath 🤷‍♀️. Philosophical about being an emotional human being and learned a little more about Mormonism.

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This is going to be my new book rating:

5 - the best book I've ever read. I'm literally a changed person.

4 - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Never a dull moment.

3- I liked it. Would recommend.

2 - it's ok. Parts were stupid. I was bored. It was poorly written. I liked it but wouldn't recommend. (Could be any of those things).

1- disgusting. I hate this book. I just wasted precious moments of my life reading this that I will never get back.

[Catarina Pedrão · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book one and a half years ago, after hearing about it on the internet somewhere. Someone said in the review “I wish I had read the reviews before buying it” and I feel the same. The same thing could have easily been said in a book the third of the size. It was painful to finish. It is interesting, but the way it drags made me put it down a high number of times, only finishing it because I hate leaving books unfinished

[Kameran Schaffner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with some of the reviews in that the authors unlikeable and indulgent. But I feel like that is a peek into their personality that you typically don’t see. To me that read more as insight into her true personality rather than cockiness. It did perhapse drag on a bit, but I feel like it wasn’t so much in retelling the same story it was more just that every story was the same because of the tendencies with her personality.

[Katherine Bolger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would probably give it 2.5 stars if I could. (On that note I might propose to good reads about adding .5 ratings into their platform as 5 options isn’t a very broad range) It was definitely interesting and delving into the mind of a sociopath from their perspective does open a different light into the human mind. I struggled to finish the second half of the book as it was quite repetitive but I may try again down the line.

[Mirella Elgersma-Azmanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the book did get a bit repetitive once I got halfway through, I did enjoy it. I find the one starred reviews a bit too harsh, although I wouldn’t put this book in my top 10 favorites either. It gives an interesting perspective on sociopathy and I find it unique in the degree to which the writer has studied herself and is able to describe this very well. She seems to have a lot of self knowledge, and manages to really get you thinking.

[Pana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it very fascinating. I found myself questioning my own life experiences to deduce if I have the same propensity or If I could spot someone with sociopathic attributes. The author's way of mixing authentic research, to reinforce their experiences really kept me engaged. I recommend this book because it subverted my expectations and gave me insight into a disorder I new nothing about.

[Korin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to everyone I read it years ago but still think about it in every interaction I have with people

[Jane Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sociopath should not have bothered confessing

[Nikita Mang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a bit hard to read.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't what I hoped. It's mostly ramblings of a narcissist bragging about being a terrible person, while trying to convince you that she's not a terrible person.

[Barbara Presley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Challenging.

[Book Worm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a highly sensitive person, this was quite a read! I wish I was more of a sociopath rather than crippled by all these emotions all the time 😬

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Dawnalise ⋆˚✿˖° · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf…

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did Not Finish!