Part of the Casswiki article series Books
The Sociopath Next Door is a compelling book by Martha Stout, first published in 2005. In this book, the author paints a chillingly accurate picture of what sociopaths (psychopaths) are like; they do not have a conscience, do not feel love or remorse, do not feel guilt or shame, but rather, they live their lives like actors in a play, mimicking emotions in order to lure normal people into abusive and catastrophic relationships.
The author also advises the reader to develop an awareness of the nature of sociopaths in order to avoid becoming their victim and proposes “thirteen rules” in the eighth chapter as self-help guidelines to assessing relationships and behavior for these sociopathic characters, as well as offering advice on handling situations when one encounters them.
From Laura Knight-Jadczyk’s review on Amazon:
Psychopaths, not Sociopaths
That’s the only beef I have with this book: that Martha copped out on the nomenclature. Calling a psychopath a sociopath makes them sound almost civilized. Well, of course, many of them ARE wearing a civilized mask. But underneath there is an intraspecies predator.
This book is essential reading for every human being - without exception - because what you don’t know about psychopaths CAN hurt you! They are out there and their influence on society is all out of proportion to their numbers.
Also read Political Ponerology by Andrew Lobaczewski to get the full picture of how psychopaths literally influence everything about our daily lives. It’s no joke!