Rating: 
Summary: Major Detour on The Road Less Traveled...
Review: I've read all of Alice Miller's books (Drama of the Gifted Child, For Your Own Good, etc) and found that Peck recognizes many similar observations, so I hoped I was on firm ground. That ground dissolved as I got further into the book and Scott departed from "the truth of facts" as Miller puts it, and into "Grace," interweaving religious-based assertions with his prior good sense.
Peck states at the beginning that "Life is suffering" and mentions Carl Jung's quote that "neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering." Alice Miller states that this suffering arises from one of two circumstances: either the "legitimate suffering" that comes from facing and feeling the truth of our repressed, damaged childhood history without denial or delusion (since no one parents perfectly, we've all been damaged to some degree) - or the "neurotic suffering" we feel from either Depression or Grandiosity, two coping mechanisms adopted when one is forced to deny (repress) the truth of one's damaged childhood history, and the tragedy of not knowing how to let go of that shield - even fiercely defending it through excusing/idealizing the parents who did the damage once one is an "adult."
Peck's departure nearer the end of the book into the religious idea of "Grace" obscures this choice behind the second defense of neurotic suffering: religious Grandiosity. In Peck's entire book, he gives the concept of Alice Miller's "Helping or Enlightened Witness" only a single line - yet, this concept is a key path out of the hell of human misery. By confronting our own past, assisted by another human being who unreservedly champions the child we were, we recover our ability to empathize with the defenseless child in ourselves rather than identifying with our former `god-like' parental abusers and so heal our damaged personality, able at last to give ourselves and others the love our original caretakers couldn't because of their own unresolved childhood trauma. By doing this with another compassionate human being (an equal) rather than a god-figure (superior/subordiant), we accomplish two crucial things: we uncover and let go of the illusion many of us carry of a Perfect Childhood that never existed -- and so can also end our addiction to a belief in a Perfect Authority Figure first symbolized by our parents that, as adults, we all too often continue to dangerously project onto other all too human leaders -- resulting in the glorious discovery that at last, we have the right to think for ourselves.
While the first part of this book is very clear and concise, I feel that the author did a "bait and switch" at the end, beginning with straight psychology and detouring into religion, like starting off on a well-lit highway and ending up on a dark, bumpy backroad. If you want to read books that stick with "the truth of facts" from cover to cover, look up the most recent editions of any of Alice Miller's work and you'll find an author who won't gloss over the difficult and rewarding journey of healing childhood trauma with a magic candy-coating.
Rating: 
Summary: A new approach to live and grow
Review: In many of the self improvement books available in the market today, a number of areas are stressed as relevant in our personal growth - self control, discipline, empathy and love. We are informed that if these are present in our lives, we will obtain happiness, fulfilment and maximise our talents and abilities.In addition to these, all problems will be solved or at least be seen as opportunities to be welcomed with open arms. We are in control of our destiny. Limits lie within us and the environment is only the means by which we reach our ambitions. If "The Road Less Travelled" had followed these much trodden pathway, its fate would be like many of its contemporaries; no reprints and best forgotten by those who had read them. M. Scott Peck fully acknowledged that life is difficult and this forms the first sentence in the book. Although to some extent the author wrote on self development and growth, this forms only the peripheral. Problems exists and it do not go away. The author fully acknowledge the significant of religion and grace (the unexplainable in science) and its role in providing us with our fulfilment in life. The author unashamedly points out his conviction on this matter with rigour and wrote passionately and convincingly. Any books on self development and improvement that emphasised mainly on our personalities and actions simply ignored the many real limitation in our actions. Born with disabilities, incurable illness, tragedies and accidents, all these are beyond our control and impact our lives tremendously. Our actions then becomes our limitations. Nevertheless, the one small blemish in this book is the overconfident and belief in psychoanalysis of the author. I am not a great fan of Freud and I find somehow unconvinced our midnight dreams are the wisdom of the unconscious. However this should not distract us from the great worth of the book and it should be thoroughly read and absorbed. Undoubtedly, M. Peck Scott has provided to us a new approach to live our life and it should be adopted by many as the right course to embark upon.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic that stands the test of time!
Review: It is one of the most powerful book I have ever read. It has the energy that can go through my deepest thought and soul and help me to finally understand many things in my life. It is amazingly easy to read for a book that presents you with abstract concepts and ideas. Having a bacground in psychology and have seen many pop psychology books that provide you with simplistic tools to fix your life, I am relieved that this book is not one of them. It does not give you steps to follow or quick fixes, but it gives you ability to make sense of your world and to see your life in a brighter way. It gives you growth! And it even encourages you to see yourself as a part of something bigger. It does not shy to mention God and faith as part of human growth! How refreshing!
It is a real classic, a masterpiece, and I will not be surprised if the book is still relevant 20 or even 100 years from now.
Rating:
Summary: A book for all seasons....
Review: The book opens with the words "Life is difficult." Once you accept that, it becomes a lot easier! But most of us don't accept that. We think if we do things the right way, or if other people would, then eventually life would become easier. Our material needs will be met, love will bloom forever, bad things won't happen to us, and life will unfold according to our individual needs and wishes. Guess again. If you're constantly trying hard and finding life to be a major disappointment, you may find comfort and practical help in the reading and re-reading of this book. Peck writes in an easy to read, easy to understand manner, writing of his life and that of many of his own patients. He begins with a section on Discipline; the next is on Love; then Growth and Religion; closing (how appropriately) with Grace. When first I read this, in my mid-twenties, (living life in what one of my 'friends' called Life in the Breakdown Lane) the sections didn't look like they'd offer anything to help me. Discipline was something I wanted to act out against, not find solace in. The section on Love, I was disappointed to find, did NOT provide any instructions on how to find a knight on a white horse. Growth and Religion seemed some kind of a paradox to me, and I was sure that Grace was nothing more than a name I wished I had. But within those Sections I have again and again(at different levels) found peace of mind through solutions that at first I didn't fully understand, but came to believe in -- for anyone looking for help in improving their lives, from a non-dogmatic, non-fundamentalist point of view, I'd strongly recommend this book. Read it, learn from it, and just as happens to the bunny in the children's book, The Velveteen Rabbit, you'll find yourself becoming more alive, and more 'real.' I'd also encourage the reading of Sheldon Kopp's "If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him" and (if you're looking for some comic relief, always good when stressed) watch "Groundhog Day." This is truly a gem of a book (though I haven't liked many others of his).
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