I would like to take a moment to thank the Authors Lounge for allowing me to promote my book Alternate Reality – The Mostly True Story of How I Became a Sociopath.
Alternate Reality is the comical telling of the mostly true story of how Steve Ross grew up in a dysfunctional family with dysfunctional relationships an overcame the pitfalls of his youth to live a good and prosperous life. Those who have been in an abusive or bad relationship know the doubts and fears we take into the next relationship as emotional baggage. That baggage has a tendency to negatively affect the new relationship and eventually doom the new relationship adding more doubts and baggage to the next. This culminates in an avalanche of bad relationships with seemingly no end. In Alternate Reality, Steve Ross uncovers the secret to overcoming the avalanche in a comical and down to earth way, sharing wisdom about life and how to treat people.
The underlying theme is how the author’s abusive sociopath of a father was raising multiple families at the same time causing Ross to struggle for the rest of his life as he does all he can to not turn into his sociopath of a father. Part of life is that some of our best laid plans and intentions go astray, but for Steve Ross it appears that he is more guided by Murphy’s Law than anything else. Apparently, all of his plans and best intentions eventually (but most quickly) turn into a crap-storm of catastrophes. His poor decisions and misfortunes in life are turning him into his father making this book a great story of internal struggle between good and evil, lack of nurture vs nature, and the psychological affects of continued failures with relationships.
The main portion of the book take place at a family reunion where Ross’ antics cause relatives to question what is wrong with him. The author offers to tell a story in the form of a story telling game called Alternate Reality about how he became a sociopath and the reunion becomes an unforgettable event as things get outrageous. Ross tells the story of his first dysfunctional relationship, how it was kept a secret for over 5 years, and how it broke him and turned him into a womanizing sociopath which totally shocks his family. He doesn’t stop there with follow up stories involving others proving how messed up his life was and how he became a sociopath.
Alternate Reality also has a song playlist that adds to the heart and emotion of the story as each song brings more feeling of what the characters are experiencing to the reader. For example, when Ross tells a funny story about loosing his virginity, the playlist calls for Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf. As the story progresses Ross explains how emotional pain is hidden or overcompensated for by using different self-preservation techniques one of which, Sociopathy, is an extreme version of protecting one-self from future emotional pain. Although his lifelong debauchery was designed to suppress his own pain, this behavior ultimately devastates all involved, including himself. Without the ability to feel remorse or guilt, Ross is doomed to re-live his failures in relationships for the rest of his life until he meets the right girl. Well, maybe that one is doomed too. As for the struggle to not turn into his father, don’t we all face that same fight to be the best part of what our parents were meanwhile losing all of their negative traits. Some of these battles we win, others we loose. Alternate Reality is a great story about life and the daily struggles of all people, not just sociopaths. Join in with his adventure and his mistakes during life. Ross is a great story teller with a great story to tell.
To avail my book kindly go to my website www.thealternaterealitybook.com
I truly relate to Ross and his struggles with failed relationships. Thank you Ross, for sharing your life story with us!