Books and Brunch: 'Sociopath- A Memoir' by Patric Gagne

Books and Brunch is a book club that meets on the third Saturday of each month at 11:30 am.

Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn’t understand. She suspected it was because she didn’t feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt.

She did her best to pretend she was like everyone else, but the constant pressure to conform to a society she knew rejected anyone like her was unbearable. So Gagne stole, lied, was occasionally violent, was an expert lock-picker and was a good home-invader. This was all with the goal of replacing the nothingness with something.

In college, Gagne finally confirmed what she’d long suspected: she was a sociopath. But even though it was the very first personality disorder identified, sociopathy had been neglected by mental health professionals. She was told there was no treatment and no hope for a normal life. She found herself haunted by sociopaths in pop culture: madmen and evil villains who are considered monsters. Her future looked grim.

But when Gagne reconnects with an old flame, she gets a glimpse of a future beyond her diagnosis. If she’s capable of love, it must mean that she isn’t a monster. With the help of her sweetheart and some curious characters she meets along the way, she embarks on a mission to prove that the millions of Americans who share her diagnosis aren’t all monsters, either.

This is the inspiring story of her journey to change her fate and how she managed to build a life full of love and hope.

If you have any questions, please contact Valerie at alprograms@cc-pl.org.

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