Joanne Intrator
Joanne Intrator’s life has been shaped by being the daughter of German Jewish refugees. Since childhood, she pondered why people perpetrate atrocities on their fellow human beings. After studying European history at Connecticut College, she received an MD from Columbia University and became a psychiatrist. She did a fellowship in Psychiatry and Law at Albert Einstein. Mentored by Dr. Robert Hare, she spearheaded the first brain imaging research on well-defined psychopaths, published in The Journal of Biological Psychiatry. Following her father’s death in 1993, she took it upon herself to fight for the restitution of a building in Berlin. Her journey has been the subject of news articles, television interviews, and museum exhibits. Joanne practices psychiatry in New York City. She has written for The Journal for The Study of Antisemitism, Ästhetik & Kommunikation (Berlin), Women Writers. Women(‘s) Books, and she writes a blog on psychopathy for Psychology Today.
Twitter: @joanneintrator
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
Movies of Graham Greene’s novels, The Third Man, The Quiet American, End of the Affair are set in crucial historical times that highlight dilemmas of conscience. They pay great attention to what informs life death decisions by individual human beings. Terrence Malick’s movies, A Hidden Life, and The Thin Red Line fascinate me for similar reasons. Since I have done research on psychopaths, I write about movies or series for Psychology Today that portray characters such as the Tom Ripley ones based on Patricia Highsmith’s books and the Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix.
Favorite non-reading activity?
Dancing Tango. The dance is an exquisite combination of precision and emotion.
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
In Medical School I was the oldest women in my class. I had the least science background of any of my classmates as I majored in history in college and had jobs in the film industry. At age 27 I went back to school to take the science and math courses needed. I finally had the courage to fulfill a lifelong wish to be a doctor. It took getting through the first two years in medical school to calm down about this.
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
If the book is meant for relaxing, I will bail out on the soon side if it is hard to get into. If it is one that I ought to read , that is about subject matters that will enhance my knowledge base, I will persist.
Vacation Druthers
Most of my vacations have been about exploring other places, and learning about other cultures. Now I really need a vacation for pure relaxation. Preferably on a lake a wonderful full-service Inn or Hotel, mountains, trails and lots of books and open-ended time.
