H
Hildegarda
Guest
Somebody said once that literary works based on true stories of psychopaths are as informative as academic research on psychopathy, or may be even more informative. There is something about the stories of real people which are researched in depth, analyzed, and expertly narrated that makes the subject come alive and emphasizes its urgency.
Perhaps we can put together a list of books like that, true crime novels, biographies or psychological thrillers, to give each other an idea of what to add to our reading list?
I am presently reading "And Never Let Her Go" by Ann Rule -- it's a true crime novel based on the murder of Anne-Marie Fahey in Wilmington, DE back in the 90s. It had received a lot of media attention back then.
The perpetrator, Thomas Capano, was a very well-adjusted pathological individual, a pillar of the community, who has wormed his way into the girl's life and was intent on controlling her completely. He obviously could sense the victim-profile women,
too -- Anne-Marie had a vibrant personality, was friendly and successful, yet she did grow up with an alcoholic father, and she had an eating disorder. The other women he pursued, as well as his wife, were similar in this respect too: likely to put the others' needs before their own and not able to say "no" to manipulation.
He wrote her numerous letters in the same rambling, love-bomb style that psychopaths tend to use, almost word for word like the one here: http://cyberpaths.blogspot.com/ He was very manipulative, carefully cultivating an image of yourself as a do-gooder among the people who knew about the relationship between him and Anne-Marie, while portraying her as a troubled and messed-up individual. He would use against her the very things she told him about herself in confidence. E.g., he would constantly mention food in his letters and invite her to restaurants, which in anorexics only increases their anxiety about food and makes it impossible for them to eat. She would get weaker, and he would have grounds for showing more concern. Sick.
The big lesson for me was that, despite everything we learned, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that nobody saw it coming. Sure, nobody sees it coming when somebody opens fire in a school or workplace, but after that initial reaction, things always come up that, in retrospect, were the warning signs. Strange or erratic behavior, psychiatric medication skipped, harassing neighbors etc, patterns of animal abuse in childhood etc.
With this guy, there were no signs. Nothing in his upbringing that would explain what happened. Everyone always looked up to him, since he was a kid; he was always the star student, later a successful lawyer, the responsible one, taking care of the family, watching out for his brothers etc. I keep wondering if this is due to the way the book is written, may be the author didn't want to delve into the roots of his behavior too deeply. Regardless, this story really gives you the idea of how well these
types can hide.
Do you have any recommendations for similar type books?
Perhaps we can put together a list of books like that, true crime novels, biographies or psychological thrillers, to give each other an idea of what to add to our reading list?
I am presently reading "And Never Let Her Go" by Ann Rule -- it's a true crime novel based on the murder of Anne-Marie Fahey in Wilmington, DE back in the 90s. It had received a lot of media attention back then.
The perpetrator, Thomas Capano, was a very well-adjusted pathological individual, a pillar of the community, who has wormed his way into the girl's life and was intent on controlling her completely. He obviously could sense the victim-profile women,
too -- Anne-Marie had a vibrant personality, was friendly and successful, yet she did grow up with an alcoholic father, and she had an eating disorder. The other women he pursued, as well as his wife, were similar in this respect too: likely to put the others' needs before their own and not able to say "no" to manipulation.
He wrote her numerous letters in the same rambling, love-bomb style that psychopaths tend to use, almost word for word like the one here: http://cyberpaths.blogspot.com/ He was very manipulative, carefully cultivating an image of yourself as a do-gooder among the people who knew about the relationship between him and Anne-Marie, while portraying her as a troubled and messed-up individual. He would use against her the very things she told him about herself in confidence. E.g., he would constantly mention food in his letters and invite her to restaurants, which in anorexics only increases their anxiety about food and makes it impossible for them to eat. She would get weaker, and he would have grounds for showing more concern. Sick.
The big lesson for me was that, despite everything we learned, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that nobody saw it coming. Sure, nobody sees it coming when somebody opens fire in a school or workplace, but after that initial reaction, things always come up that, in retrospect, were the warning signs. Strange or erratic behavior, psychiatric medication skipped, harassing neighbors etc, patterns of animal abuse in childhood etc.
With this guy, there were no signs. Nothing in his upbringing that would explain what happened. Everyone always looked up to him, since he was a kid; he was always the star student, later a successful lawyer, the responsible one, taking care of the family, watching out for his brothers etc. I keep wondering if this is due to the way the book is written, may be the author didn't want to delve into the roots of his behavior too deeply. Regardless, this story really gives you the idea of how well these
types can hide.
Do you have any recommendations for similar type books?
