Customer Reviews
absolutely fascinating - By: K. M. Hazell, 25 Sep 2008 
I lost my grandson 15mths ago & have been having a very bad time with coming to terms with it. when i read this book, which i found easy to read & understand,i found a peace of mind that has eluded me all my life. Scott Peck explains what love is & how to extend that love & what you may find at the end. When i finished the book i just said out loud "oh Wow".
Every body should read this book at sometimein thier livesThe Road Less Travelled (Arrow New-Age)
The best definition of Love - By: , 21 Jan 2006 
This is an excllent book that look at life the way it is. It is honest & full of insight about the role that we playin each other lives as parents, partners, friends, etc...
It defines lovein the most realistic way & makes you think very deeply on actions you take & how they impact everyone around you hence push you towards coucious responsibility.
I found the religous part of the book less appealing but overal its a very valuable book.
Essential - By: Layla, 20 Dec 2005 Not easy reading but worth every second & all the effort that you putin it. While Peck's style is generally engaging & simple, there are times when you might need to re-read his words to get his meaning. This is probably because the subject matter gets your mind working almost from the first word. Each chapter deserves to be read slowly & carefully & therefore, it is not an 'easy' read.
This is a book about living; livingin a way that sets you apart. It's a book about Life & everything that we normally associate with it & with living. Peck divides the book into four sections: Discipline, Love, Growth & Religion, & Grace. Butin these sections he addresses everything from fallingin love to solving problems & dealing with pain. The challenge, of course, is doing all of these thingsin our limited lifetimes, but he writes about that too.
Most of us tend to take these `things' for granted; we 'do' them without thinking about the reasons, methods, or the consequences. In the 'The Road Less Traveled', Scott Peck forces us to think about what we do, what we feel, & what we thinkin different ways that we have not thought of before.
Scott Peck combines years of psychotherapy with a natural writing style that attracts the reader & challenges his/her mind. It is not the writing style that makes the book difficult reading (even though there are a few instancesin the book when he does become too involved), but the continuous challenge to you mind & to your preconceived ideas. Peck demands that you examine your mind, your feelings & your heart deeply & objectively. Most of us find that difficult.
Peck comes across his book as a warm & sensitive person & he makes you feel at ease instantly... What else would you expect from someone whose opening sentence is "Life is difficult!"
Charting a path... - By: Kurt Messick, 11 Nov 2004 I first read M. Scott Peck's `The Road Less Travelled' over 20 years ago, but it is a text to which I return again & again, as Peck's insights & observations remain a constant source of inspiration & guidancein my life. It still finds a ready homein the hands of therapists, counselors, ministers, teachers, career planners, & others as part of their resources, & is not out of placein the home of anyone who cares about the directions of her or his life.
Peck is a clinical psychiatrist - the material for this book came largely from his experiences with clients & others, seeing what worked & what didn't, what was missing & what was mis-understood. Often cases involved psychotherapy (talk therapy), but the processes here are not confined to therapists' offices. The same kinds of problem solving, processing & relationship building that takes placein psychotherapy can be used as life-long tools.
Peck resists labels such as Freudian & Jungian; he doesn't look for, nor does he offer, quick fixes or the psychotherapeutic variety of the get-rich-quick schemes. This book is not a therapy manual, but rather a guide to spiritual growth that incorporates therapeutic & psychological principles. Peck echoes the sentiments of many spiritual directors & leaders through the millennia that spiritual & personal growth are long journeys, not short leaps. It involves dedication & intention, & a willingness to accept risk & change.
Perhaps it is ironic that, given this, the first topic Peck focuses upon is Discipline. However, without discipline, change can go unchecked & uncharted, growth can become problematic, & the human soul becomes susceptible to a host of difficulties. Dedication & application to problem-solving & long-term building (whether it be of retirement funds or of one's own spirit) requires a disciplined approach that recognises that life is difficulty (the first of Buddha's Four Noble Truths, cited by Peck), gratification sometimes needs to be delayed for greater goods, & reality needs to be approached & dealt with responsibly.
Peck calls here for a life to be totally dedicated to the truth. This is hard, because we as human beings are so accustomed to rationalisation & reinterpretation. This kind of dedication also requires a balancein life, & an ability to be flexible as the truths of our lives change - few of us arein possession of timeless & eternal truths governing every aspect of our lives, & often those who feel they are end up disappointedin the end. The continuing creativity of Godin our lives requires flexibility, but this is best achievedin a disciplined & balanced context.
Peck then turns to love, a mysterious thing evenin the best of times. He identifies some of the myths of `fallingin love' & romantic love that our culture through various means idealises, leading to great dissatisfaction when we do not achieve the desired feelings or situations. Peck makes the assertion that love is not really a feeling, but rather an action or activity, that involves a lot of risk-taking (Peck talks about risks of independence, of commitment, of confrontation, & of loss). True love requires discipline & recognition of the needs of the self & others.
The final two sections of the text deal with aspects of religion on the spiritual & psychological development of persons. The first section looks at religion & growth processes. He does a short survey of some attitudes toward religions & denominations, as well as a look at how the modern scientific mindset colours the worldview of modern people, particularly with ideas of verification & skepticism. Some psychologists & theorists have wondered if religion were mass delusions, mass psychosis, or some other kind of sickness. Peck uses interesting extended case studies here to examine the role of various aspects of religionin the developmental lives of several people. Peck asks the question, `Is beliefin God a psychopathology?' In some aspects, & for some people, the way they approach & `use' religion, the answer may well be yes. However, Peck also takes the psychotherapeutic community to task for often being too narrow or too dismissive of the value of religious sentiment & institutionsin the lives of their charges.
The final section looks at the role of gracein the spiritual growth process. Grace is another mysterious force, like love, that is difficult to pin down & explain. It is also something uncontrollable. Why do some with artistic talent end up being successful & celebrated, & others not? Why do some use their talent, when others don't? In cases of ultimate despair, Peck makes the observation that while it is often clear why some people commit suicide, it is not often clear why othersin the same situations don't. Some of this has to do with the unconscious mind that guides us, & some of it has to do with the miracle of serendipity, as Peck describes it.
Peck describesin some detail his concept of what grace is & how it works,in very general terms that relate to no denomination or religionin particular, but has wide applicability. He talks both about resistance to grace & the welcoming of grace. Grace is not easy, & often comes with responsibilities (Bonhoeffer talks about cheap grace; the requirements of grace are noted through scriptures of many religions). Welcoming grace welcomes often more than we bargained for, but also often more than we hoped.
In his afterword, Peck discusses the difficulties of writingin an organised & linear fashion about something so fundamentally disorganised as spiritual growth & therapeutic processes. He also talks about the need for finding competent help when required - ability is not measured by degrees, he states (something truein many professions). This is useful for those seeking a first therapeutic relationship, or needing a change.
Two roads diverged in a wood... - By: Larry Hehn, 24 Nov 2003 ...And I took the one less traveled by...
The essence of this book is summed upin the first three words. Life is difficult. Peck shows us that our avoidance of problems & their accompanying suffering are the root of mental illness. Difficulties are a fact of life, & they never go away. By refusing to acknowledge & overcome them, we create a barrier to our spiritual growth.
When I first read this book several years ago, I was not ready to hear its message. I had created my own reality, believing that I was working at my full capacity & was on the road to achieving my full potential.
While this book was not the source of revelation, it has been a catalyst to help me realize the self-deception that kept me from being a truly loving person. There is a long road ahead, but I am now on the path of lifelong learning & growth. The Road Less Traveled has helped me identify & remove many of the barriers that up until now had held me back from being the person God created me to be.
...And that has made all the difference.
Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory
