I Know You Really Love Me: A Psychiatrist's Account of Stalking and Obsessive Love (Mass Market Paperback)

by Doreen Orion (Author) "Dr. Trottle," I said in a trembling voice as I began the phone call..." (more)
Key Phrases: erotomanic delusions, first restraining order, antistalking legislation, Los Angeles, Rebecca Schaeffer, Robert Bardo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In September 1989, Doreen Orion was just beginning her psychiatric practice when one of her female patients developed an erotomanic obsession with her. Over the next eight years, this patient skulked outside of Orion's house and at her workplace, leaving bizarre messages, watching her, and making her unwelcome presence known in virtually every aspect of her life. In I Know You Really Love Me, Orion recounts her legal and emotional struggles as she tried to take control of the situation.

As a psychiatrist, Orion has fascinating insights into the condition that causes some people to obsess inappropriately over others. She also describes compellingly the feelings of helplessness and fear that stalking causes its victims--but always with the compassion and understanding of someone who works with the mentally ill. Her unique perspective as both a victim and a professional makes I Know You Really Love Me not just a blow-by-blow account of a stalking, but a practical guide to understanding, avoiding, and discouraging stalkers. --Lisa Higgins

Product Description
Locked in a ward of an Arizona psychiatric hospital, the patient called Fran looked harmless, even ordinary. Meeting her, psychiatrist Doreen Orion had no warning that Fran suffered from erotomania, the bizarre mental disorder that causes stalkers to believe their victims are in love with them--and no inkling that she would be the next target of Fran's twisted, dangerous mind.

Now Dr. Orion reveals how she has been spied upon, accosted, and hunted for eight years, living in fear of her life and the lives of those closest to her. Changing her address and job, getting restraining orders and having Fran arrested, have all failed to end Fran's obsessive behavior, which continues to this day.

Recounting the ordeals of Madonna, David Letterman, and scores of others who have been terrorized by stalkers, Dr. Orion alerts potential victims to this increasingly deadly disorder--and tells what society must do to protect us all from those who would kill for love.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044022599X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440225997
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #568,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible but true story of a fascinating disorder!!!, January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This is a wonderful book. Extremely well written, Dr. Orion takes us on a horrific journey, while educating us along the way. Using many compelling examples from her own case and others (including some of the more notorious celebrity cases), she proves the point that stalking is not taken seriously enough by both law enforcement and other mental health professionals. Time and again, we learn that when the victim, the victim's family or others entrusted with helping the victim don't take the stalker seriously, at best, the behavior escalates. At worst, it turns deadly! This book should be required reading for law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, and those in the mental health field. It should also be read by anyone who likes a beautifully written thriller!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very real story about victim of stalking, December 21, 1998

By A Customer

Being a victim of stalking myself it was a great relief to know that I am not the only one victim of obsessive love. Great book, easy to read, lots of different other people's stories. Dr. Orion sheared her story to help others.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Read, Crucial Information, July 17, 2002

By	Leah (Wenatchee, WA) - See all my reviews

This book blew me away. It is full of important information, not just for stalking victims, but for potential victims as well (ie all of us). But, more than that, this true story reads better than any fiction thriller out there. A friend who had been stalked, and found this book priceless, lent it to me. I could see why it had been so important to her, but even though I had never been stalked, I still found it to be a great read.

One more comment - I read the review below - Dr. Orion's husband was NOT her clinical supervisor. They were just in the same residency program. I'm not sure where this person got that erroneous info, but I just wanted to set that straight, as it would certainly effect the story if it were true, and I might not have read the book if I'd read that review, first.