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How can you spot a psychopath? Although there are many different characteristics of a psychopath to look out for, a 2015 study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences did find that psychopaths tend to be night owls. As the study found, people with psychopathic traits seem to work better at night. So if you want to know if someone is a psychopath, their night time habits can possibly clue you in. What an incredible story this is! Carolyn Woods was a confident 54-year-old woman, divorced and financially well off until she met the man that nightmares is made from. Mark Conway as he introduced himself to Carolyn, was a confident, charismatic conman that walked into her life one day and ruined her financially and emotionally. So many red flags. He told her he’d just been shot in the arm, then in the leg. Did she not notice he had no wounds when they were being intimate? The rudeness he showed towards her family would have made most women run for the hills, but she stayed. I think because she, right from the day she met him, loved the luxury champagne and limo lifestyle. At some point when your psychopath has felt like he or she has built a sufficient trust bond with you, his or her affections turn romantic, as you are overwhelmed by a relentless flood of affectionate attention and proclamation of love, even if you are already in a suitable romantic relationship at the moment. If you are in a relationship with someone else, the psycho will find ways to discredit the person you are in a relationship with now and create mind games that will have you thinking something is desperately wrong. Not surprisingly, you will probably start thinking that the person you love(d) is a “psychopath.” I don’t want to go into detail, about the lengths he went, you should read that yourself. I read so much with a dropped jaw. I liked the quotes at the start of each chapter that related to what had happened. I have to agree with Carolyn that there is something much deeper with this man. I don’t think there is a cure. It is who he is.
I found this true story astonishing and I highly recommend for anyone who was fascinated and horrified by The Tinder Swindler on Netflix. Also, as the cover states, for those interested in the ‘Dirty John’ case (Debra Newell also has written her own book.) None of us can say for sure that we wouldn't fall the same way. Most of us will think we're too smart to be used like that, but this guy is not so unusual. I've also read both of Mary Turner-Thomson's books about her bigamist/psychopath husband and what he did to her. Inevitably, I find myself playing 'compare and contrast' between the two women's books and, whilst I think this is better written, I was oddly more sympathetic to MTT's case. Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life. So when I read this, I did believe that a grown woman with her own home, money in the bank, independent and strong willed woman could be wooed by this psychopath. I felt that Carolyn didn't come across as a particularly likeable character - often stating her (perceived) personality traits for the reader. I.e. "I am a very strong/positive person", which were often at odds with the way she was behaving - she spent most of the book in a state of deep depression and despair, long after Mark was out of her life.Interestingly the book doesn't stop at the fraud played upon this poor woman, it covers the later police investigation which took far longer than seems reasonable. I would have said the same around two years ago before my middle aged daughter was scammed, scammed online out of a lot of money, through her trust, her big heart and the cleverness of that other terrible person. Romance scam. She’s too much, quiet literally the most annoying and stupid woman ever - firstly views herself as too good for antidepressants and also somehow connects a friendly supportive hug (okay slightly inappropriate but not to this extent) between and doctor and patient to the MeToo movement in which women were literally sexual assault. This women is so god damn annoying. Rant over… for now. I started skimming at 75% when we were informed in great detail about how badly the police handled everything. Again, always someone elses fault.
Your intimate relationship is a sophisticated process that starts out as the most amazing relationship that you have ever had, that ends in a burning inferno. It’s so easy to say “I wouldn’t do that” or “couldn’t she see what was happening” but I was able to understand why Carolyn did allow herself to be dragged down this murky path. Simply put, she fell head over heels in love with a professional conman. A man who had spent most of his life honing his craft, learning how to read people and press the right buttons to get exactly what he wanted and to make his victims fall for his lies. I have so much respect for the strength Carolyn has shown in writing and publishing this account. At times I found myself loosing focus whilst I was reading and I found parts a little repetitive. There will be many people who question how she believed such outlandish lies, but her honesty and strength stand out to me. I felt both gripped and haunted by this read, I almost feel like I cannot trust anyone. There are many chilling but important messages within this book.Sleeping with a Psychopath by Carolyn Woods is the true story of her life when she met the charismatic, wealthy and handsome Mark Conway and within a matter of weeks Carolyn, a divorcee living in a quiet village, happy with her single life and her friends, finds herself falling head over heels with a stranger and slowly being alienated from everyone and becoming completely dependant both emotionally and financially on Mark. Now that you’ve all but pledged your heart and soul to the psycho, the strangest things will start to occur. You will start to notice inconsistencies, and you will be told, “It’s all in your mind.” And it’s these kinds of mind games that will make you start to wonder if you are of sound mind. How could all this just be from an overactive imagination? Your psychopath’s not being where he or she said they would be at the agreed-upon time, will all be credited to you not remembering the details correctly. And as you start to wonder if the psycho is on the up and up, “How dare you to question the undying love and commitment” your psychopath has for you. He or she would surely take a bullet for you or even give their own life for you (they will say to dispel any questions you might have about their integrity). These inconsistencies are clues that your psychopath is already sizing up his or her next victim, or may already have one on the hook, as he or she prepares for the, 5. Pain and Suffering Associated with Being Played by the Psycho I loved Dirty John when it was on Netflix, so if you too were a fan of that you'll find this book fascinating at the depraved lengths these men will stoop to! I've just finished this book and I have mixed feelings on it. I felt as though it was really a book of two halves and I find myself with different opinions on the beginning and the end. Not sure where to begin with this book. To start with, Carolyn Woods comes across as quite an unpleasant, very vain woman. She blames every one else for every single thing that happened to her, when, basically she was silly enough to fall for the most ridiculous pile of lies I’ve ever heard.
When it all went haywire, she blamed everyone else, falling out with her whole family and best friends. Good question. First of all, your predatory psychopath is ecstatic about the fact that you are sleeping with him or her because this is one of the most manipulative positions they can find themselves in. No one is easier to manipulate, fleece, exploit, or otherwise victimize than someone who is engaged in sexual activity with a psychopath. A true-crime story that reads like a thriller, Sleeping with a Psychopath is a blow-by-blow account of the power of manipulation and a testament to the human will to survive. Product Details I admire Carolyn Woods' tenacity in hunting down her abuser but at times it all feels rather futile. He's out of prison again now and probably conning a host of more gullible or greedy people (not suggesting she was greedy - far from it). To write a book like this, you need to be VERY honest, and I think Woods has been honest - but sadly to a degree which tends to make the reader sometimes rather less sympathetic. Her falling out with friends (the ones who were looking after her furniture seemed very badly treated) and family (her sister-in-law springs to mind) was unpleasant to read and reflected rather poorly on the 'it's not my fault, I'm the victim' author. This book purports to be a real-life crime thriller; but given that the story has been all over the media, there is nothing new or revelatory here.This is a fascinating tale as well as a warning to unsuspecting women of how easily life can come unravelled. Now that's not to say I didn't approach the read with a certain amount of scepticism, after all I'm really not sure I'd hand over vast sums of money to someone I'd not long met even though I have to take Carolyn's assertions that it was different if you were there.
The title of this book is a bit misleading in as much as the 'psychopath' of the title never actually spends the night with the author. Forgive me for pointing that out, but it's one of the weird things he does (or rather doesn't do) in a very long list of extremely weird behaviours. She is in love with the 'idea' of the man rather than his reality. The second part of the book which covered the investigation was easier to get through and a bit more interesting - perhaps because it was less about her. All in all, I won't be recommending this to anyone unfortunately. This was in 2012, when there was already so much publicity about conmen and scammers! Yet she actually believed he worked for M16, was friends with every famous person you can think of, was rich enough to buy several airports and fleets of vintage aeroplanes, one day was in Spain, later that day was in Syria, received phone calls from the king of Spain. Come on!
Reviews:
I feel so sorry for any woman who finds herself in this situation, thinking she's found 'The one', yet he's just interested in milking her for everything she has, not caring what financial & mental destruction he is causing.
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