Confessions of a Sociopath

The dispassionate hardness in Bernadette Sullivan's tone works well for this riveting memoir about the realities of being a high-functioning sociopath--a person who has no conscience or empathy for others and is manipulative, predatory, and uncommitted to anything or anyone beyond his or her own self-interest. Sullivan's beguiling voice and total command of every phrase and sentence magnify the addictive appeal of the author's impenetrable self-regard and shameless power over others. Though corporate executive M.E. Thomas (a pseudonym) provides an interesting assortment of mental health research on sociopaths, what lingers is the candor of her self-revelations, as well as her dignified and sympathetic request that we learn something about people with this syndrome rather than oversimplifying or judging them. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine