Free Chapter: The Narcissist in You (and everyone else)

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Below is the Introduction from Sterlin’s book, The Narcissist in You and Everyone Else: Recognizing the 27 Types of Narcissism, available on Amazon and where other online books are sold. To get a 30% discount purchase directly from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, use the code: RLFANDF30

Introduction

You’re narcissistic. Yes, you read that correctly. You’re narcissistic, but so am I, and so is your mother, father, brother, sister, partner, best friend, and neighbor. Before you put this book down in disgust, disbelief, and outrage, allow me to explain. When you hear the word "narcissism," I'd wager that you conjure images of smarmy, cutthroat business tycoons or arrogant, entitled movie stars. Maybe you're old enough to have been traumatized by Faye Dunaway's performance of Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest or Christian Bale’s chilling portrayal of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (more on this in Chapter XI).

Perhaps you hear the word narcissist and think of someone who believes they're pretty great and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. And while these are some manifestations of narcissism, the experience of narcissism in human beings is fascinatingly nuanced. Overall, the word has a pejorative implication and, thanks to pop-psychology, has become a catch-all to describe anyone who possesses higher-than-average confidence and treats people carelessly.

Unfortunately, these stereotypes fail to tell us what the heck narcissism is or what it does to us or others when it occurs in everyday life. So when I say you're narcissistic, I mean we all have a little bit of one of the 27 subtypes of narcissism described in this book within us. The question is, how often does your inner Mommy Dearest or Patrick Bateman rear their head?