"Confessions of a Zen Narcissist" is the story of my experience with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD); however, it is more than a discussion of its genesis, manifestation, and transition from disorder to trait. NPD is merely an exaggerated manifestation of a component of other personality disorders and of the distress of most people. NPD centers on the illusion of a separate and permanent self. This illusion is common to all human beings and...