Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door - Martha Stout, PH.D.

SMM

The Living Force
Dr. Martha Stout, the author of 'The Sociopath Next Door', 'The Myth of Sanity', and 'The Paranoia Switch', has a new book this year. As her other books have been mentioned, discussed, and recommended on the forum, I was wondering if this book has shown up on any of the US folks' radar? The full title with subtitle is:

Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door: How to Protect Yourself Against A Ruthless Manipulator (Published by Penguin Random House)

The title link and publisher link above go to the publisher's website.

It was released on April 21, 2020 in the US (Amazon US) and it will be released on August 20 in the UK (Amazon UK). Here's a little bit more on the book from the publisher's page:

ABOUT OUTSMARTING THE SOCIOPATH NEXT DOOR
From Dr. Martha Stout’s influential work The Sociopath Next Door, we learned how to identify a sociopath. Now she tells us what we actually can do about it.

“Mandatory reading on how to effectively deal with sociopaths before you get hurt.”—Joe Navarro, former FBI special agent and the author of Dangerous Personalities


While the best way to deal with a sociopath is to avoid him or her entirely, sometimes circumstance doesn’t allow for that. What happens when the time comes to defend yourself against your own child, a ruthless ex-spouse, a boss or another person in power? Using the many chilling and often heartbreaking emails and letters she has received over the years, Dr. Martha Stout uncovers the psychology behind the sociopath’s methods and provides concrete guidelines to help navigate these dangerous interactions.

Organized around categories such as destructive narcissism, violent sociopaths, sociopathic coworkers, sociopathy in business and government, and the sociopath in your family, Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door contains detailed explanation and commentary on how best to react to keep the sociopath at bay. Uniting these categories is a discussion of changing psychological theories of personality and sociopathy and the enduring triumph of conscience over those who operate without empathy or concern for others. By understanding the person you’re dealing with and changing the rules of the game, you’ll be able to gain the upper hand and escape the sociopath’s influence.

Whether you’re fighting a custody battle against a sociopathic ex or being gaslighted by a boss or coworker, you’ll find hope and help within these pages. With this guide to disarming the conscienceless, Dr. Stout provides an incisive new examination of human behavior and conceptions of normality, and gives readers the tools needed to protect themselves.

There is an excerpt from the audiobook and the written book on the publisher's page that can be accessed and read. The written excerpt has a disclaimer that no part of the excerpt should be reproduced or republished without written permission from the publisher so I won't do that just yet. I haven't had a chance to read the entire excerpt else I'd give a summary. It's late here now, not today!

If anyone in the US or elsewhere does check the book out before August, or if anyone reads the excerpt, it'd be good to hear your input on this one.
 
ohh thanks a lot for the recommendation SMM,

I am a big fan of her work, and this one sounds rather pertinent today. So I will be checking it out soon. I have a few on my list of reading (and listening) but this one has been added to my list.

Thanks a lot!
 
I really didn't like the end of the book where she suggested that we have compassion for psychopaths/sociopaths, and also reminded that sociopaths are not less than human. The thought that we should have compassion for a psychopath (my example Hillary) is laughable. She suggested an utopian vision where one day technology will be able to cure the sociopath from the lack of conscience.

She also couldn't stop herself from suggesting that Trump is a narcissist, twice, despite her admonition that an examination of the patient is required to make that diagnosis.

Bottom line is stay away from psychopaths when possible. There is no cure. The book also discusses what to do when people are unable to stay away from psychopaths in the context of psychopathic child, workplace, and child custody.
 
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