Clinical psychologist Laurie Helgoe has seen many patients with an uncanny resemblance to the blustering man who currently occupies the Oval Office. In Fragile Bully, she describes narcissists as “at once needy and aggressive, desperate for love and yet rejecting it, fragile child and bully,” adding, “American culture has a particular talent for feeding the beast” through celebrity culture, “reality” TV and the viral spew promoted by social networking. As a psychologist, Helgoe recognizes the necessity of “healthy narcissism” as part of a child’s construction of identity. However, healthy grown-ups have learned that “others cannot perfectly meet our needs” and balance their own ambitions with the “humbling effects of reality.” Narcissism is trending and undermining democracy, which depends on conversation, the possibility of compromise and the ability to appreciate other perspectives. Fragile Bully ends on a cautiously optimistic note with Helgoe citing recent examples of cooperation across party lines and fact-check sites that encourage all sides to look beyond preconceptions.
