Nada Gordon understands narcissim. Here is what she says:
“narcissism is a survival tactic, oh and I just now realized something else, it’s also a reality-checking”
“what I mean by survival tactic is this: narcissism arises from a perception of a deficit of love from outside, and because human beings need love more than anything, they will love themselves if they percieve that deficit”
— from Swoon by Nada Gordon & Gary Sullivan ISBN:1887123547