Donna Andersen, a journalist and commercial writer, is the author of Lovefraud.com, a website which teaches people how to recognize and avoid sociopaths. She launched the website because she believes her ex-husband, James Montgomery, is a sociopath. Claiming to be an entrepreneur and former Special Forces soldier, he conned Andersen out of $227,000, fathered a child with another woman during their marriage and committed bigamy. He had also defrauded at least four other women of similar amounts of money. Andersen had no understanding of a sociopath before her experience, and as a journalist, realized that she had a story that needed to be told. Contact: donna@lovefraud.com.

M.L. Gallagher is a professional writer who, once upon a time, was involved with a sociopath. She admits that while it was a difficult path to take, her life is far greater today than it ever was with him, or even before him. Gallagher’s book about the experience, The Dandelion Spirit: A True Life Fairytale of Love, Lies, andLetting Go, is helping women and men live powerful lives free of abuse and victimization. Moving on with her life, Gallagher recently wrote and produced a one-hour documentary for Global Television in Canada called, At the Heart of Centre Stage, about students who received performing arts scholarships. Contact: louise@dandelionspirit.com.

Liane J. Leedom. M.D., is a psychiatrist and author of Just Like His Father?, a book about parenting kids who have genetic risk for antisocial behavior, addiction and ADHD. She is also the author of justlikehisfather.com and parentingtheatriskchild.com. Dr. Leedom trained at USC, UCLA and Yale. The best training in psychiatry had not prepared her for her encounter with a sociopath, Barry Lichtenthal, who is the father of her son. For three years she pored through masses of scientific literature to gain the tools she needed to care for her son. “Although the government has spent millions uncovering the genetic and environmental factors involved in antisocial behavior, addiction and ADHD,” Dr. Leedom says, “the findings of this work are not available to the public.” She believes all parents have a right to the information that will help them protect and enjoy their at-risk children. Contact: drleedom@lovefraud.com.

Stephen Appel, Ph.D., is a psychotherapy practitioner, clinical supervisor and educator. He has an intellectual interest in psychopaths (as he prefers to call them), and a personal and clinical concern for those they prey upon. While he believes much is to be gained from understanding the psychopathic mind, he is deeply skeptical about the merits of doing psychotherapy with psychopaths. On the other hand, those who have had their selves distorted, corroded and emptied out by psychopaths need to repair themselves and may benefit enormously from working with a mental health professional. Dr. Steve is author of TheTopTwoInches, a site devoted to contemplating “the mysterious workings of the mind.” (“The top two inches” literally refers to the head, but means the mind, brain and thinking.) In his blog, Dr. Steve discusses, in alphabetical order, neuorology, philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, social psychology, social theory and more.

Steve Becker, LCSW, practices in New Jersey, USA. Clinically, Steve is interested in the personality disorders—especially borderline, narcissistic and sociopathic. Earlier in his career, Steve developed a reputation for working effectively with aggressive, paranoid and manipulative clients at various community mental health centers. Now in private practice, Steve works with individuals and couples, and has made presentations to clinical and lay audiences on subjects including sociopathic and narcissistic personality, rage management, and the relationship abuser. In 2006, he was honored by the YWHA in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for his commitment to end domestic violence. Steve has placed clinical articles in many publications; published short stories in small magazines; and is presently shopping an irreverant non-fiction manuscript, What’s Wrong With My Spouse?: Guidance For Partners of Impossible Spouses (viewable on his website, www.powercommunicating.com). Contact: powercommunicating@yahoo.com.

Travis Vining was born into a prominent family of Miami, Florida. He grew up in a house on a lake, with all the trappings of privilege, provided by his charming, energetic father, John B. Vining, a politically connected real estate broker. But his father went to prison for real estate fraud, and upon release, ratcheted up his criminal activity to murder, and is now on Florida’s death row. For many years Travis Vining suppressed memories of what his father had done, and went on with his life. He went to college, married, started a family and a business. But years after the fact, his memories of his father’s actions returned, and now Travis Vining writes on the Lovefraud Blog about growing up with a criminal sociopath.

Kathleen Hawk is writer and communications consultant. She is a long-time student of human development and relationships, and is a certified practitioner of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and the Brain Technologies (TM) program for corporate and personal development. She is also an award-winning poet, a teacher of creative writing and thinking, and is currently working on a book about her recovery path. Contact: khatalyst@gmail.com.