THIS BOOK DESERVES A MILLION STARS. I literally just finished it so I prob should not be doing a review just yet - to let it all digest BUT idc lol where do I even begin? The most important book I have ever read probably. My life has already changed immensely while reading it. I started to get chills and tear up at the enormity of the knowledge in this book. A gift!! A book for EVERY human being. It was like going to therapy - made me reflect deeply about my life and others and so therefore took me longer than most books do. If I had enough money I would gift this book to everyone...

The fact that I am reading this book for the first time 30 years after its publication reflects how far behind I am with my reading, not to mention how much worthy stuff there is out there to be read. It also means that without a lot of buzz about it day-to-day, I really had no idea what it was about and, therefore, waded into it rather naively. What surprised me most was where he takes us—namely that while mental health aka spiritual growth is all about discipline and love, the question of why some accept the gifts of the unconscious and work their way toward spiritual health and some don’t has to do with grace…the grace of God, I think he would be comfortable saying. And why grace chooses one and not another…he doesn’t know…we still don’t know. Nonetheless, for me it was a loving and encouraging book.

Strong beginning, end with a bing. It starts in the first of four parts with sagacity of tone, conservatively analyzing discipline and how this relates to happiness and mental illness. His ideas aren't entirely profound, but they snugly fit the psychiatric philosophy-wannabe tradition of the mid-twentieth century, which means that his writing is a literary analog of psychotherapy -- calm voice, gentle points (even if they're substantially hard to hear), patience in progression -- decked with truly interesting stories that flesh out his points nicely (the unique advantage of therapist authors). That's great, four-and-a-half to five stars, keep it going.

With each chapter change, however, another frightening head is added to the Medusa of pseudo-intellectual secular spirituality. He keeps the prose engaging in the second part, and it's nice to hear ruminations on the subject of love (especially the potent-but-romantic idea that psychotherapists should "love" their clients in the sense that they will the best for them), even if many of his thoughts are a little strange (like the idea that love is selfish). But by the third part and fourth parts (on growth and religion, and grace) he's completely in his own self-created New Age semi-mysticism, almost a pure non-sequitur in relation to the other two parts. It's not quite Christian. Actually, I don't know what it is. He arbitrarily adds the subject of grace as a finisher, which he implicitly defines as divine providence rather than anything remotely close to common theological interpretations. By now it's virtually over. "Love is conscious, grace is not." "God is the goal of evolution." "Original sin does exist; it is our laziness." All enough illogical metaphysical speculation to make a creationist blush, and have Carl Jung haunted with thoughts of a shrink crucifixion.

Still, I liked it, mostly for the first half, and even in the latter chapters there were fruits of independent thinking. But it's impossible to express how smoothly and subtlety the book progresses to a religious worldview. I felt during the latter half of the book that at any succeeding paragraph he would end one of his far-out contemplations with "Oh yeah, Jesus is God, you know." And in any other context that's fine, but here it's downright deceptive. The book starts so nicely thoughtful on daily problems and some of the steps needed to transcend them, holding to secular steering. Then one thing leads to another, and another, and before long you come to realize that the road less traveled is the road smoothly downhill to the land of blurry theology.

I loved the first 80% of the book, mostly about the lessons psychology has to offer to improve our lives. Towards the end religious and more mystical elements become predominant, and at that stage the author lost me. Still, well worth reading for everything else. And of course those that believe in a god will probably feel less alienated than I did when reading the final sections.

Peck begins well, citing the first of Buddhism's Four Noble Truths, "Life is Suffering". And what we all need is a discipline instilled in our childhood by a love which teaches us to face our problems instead of ducking them in procrastination, denial, and the like. Sounds fine, but there seems to this reader to be something missing....a mythic element, perhaps. Life will be beautiful if only we get ourselves under control and work hard, etcetera, etcetera.... It feels to me as if all wonder has been replaced by a kind of Victorian stoicism, a Protestant ethic of duty and responsibility....Do your homework BEFORE you watch TV, for example. This is maturity, getting rid of the misery first before your play.... But what of the math geek who loves homework ? The great arc of Peck's undertaking, what he calls more than once "the only way to live" seems after a while to devolve into the same shoulder-to-the-wheel Volga boatman's creed delivered in kind language that all our teachers back in the Eisenhower 50's kept hammering us with. What about dreams, Mr. Peck ? What of the libido ? It may be the screwball Celt in me that fears coming to the end of my life with all my homework done but with, Starry Night, say, unpainted.

Was quite eager to hate this book from the moment in the introduction when the author claimed to have written it with the assistance of God himself. But what do you know, 300-odd pages of straight fire later and all I can say is Scotty P may well have had some help from upstairs. That, or his housekeeper was lacing his peppermint tea with ayahuasca. Either way, grandmaster P has well and truly earned his stars with this one. A classic of the genre for good reason.

For me, this book was quite an interesting journey, with ups and downs. The author plays with the thin line that exists between psychology as a science and spirituality. I really enjoyed it, but in the same time, while reading it, I felt the need of taking some time to properly understand his vision and filter it. I appreciate that while he is exposing his theories he highlights the fact that people have different needs and that there is not a theory that is universal.

It offers you a different way of understanding life from a psychological point of view. It also gives you a different vision, underlined by therapy examples, about how childhood experiences or previous experiences can influence the way you see the world and explains the role of society (exterior world) and fear, in the process of understanding and accepting yourself.

An open mind will help you better understand the connection he makes between psychological processes and spirituality.

A really interesting book and vision. I mostly enjoyed the way he presents the concept of love and its power and the connection between the conscious and the unconscious mind.

The girl who started this book on New Years, in hopes of starting the year off on the right foot with some intellectual stimulation, is not the same girl who finished it today. Highly recommended to everybody, everywhere. The chapters are short and sweet, the writing is efficient, almost poetic, and the ideas are communicated really well.

Published in 1978, this book is wayyy ahead of it's time. He even used the word vibes! M. Scott Peck is one of the only educated individuals I've ever encountered who has put into words a concept that I thought was clear but that confuses people all the time and has for the longest time—that pertaining to the dichotomy of religion and science. I know what Freud said about it. I think his views are really interesting. They happen not to be in line with mine, and obv that's okay. I've always believed that science and "religion," in the traditional sense (Peck has other things to say about it), can and should co-exist, that they are both reflections of the same universe and reality and are by no means mutually exclusive. That there is evidence in what we don't understand (the unconscious, serendipity, health, etc, all covered in this book) of a higher being, and science also has it's basis in the same reality.

My favourite section was that on love. I never thought of love like that. Peck defines it as the will to cultivate the spiritual growth of another person. In everyday life, we generally put passive-dependency and forms of selfishness and ownership of another person under this wide umbrella labelled love. Love, according to Peck, is really a miniscule portion of what most people think it is. Love should feel liberating, not suffocating. Came as a shock to me, but then I realized, of course! Why would it be anything else?

I'm glad this book put so much emphasis on the upbringing of individuals and the notion of maturity, emotional adulthood, resulting from taking one's life into one's own hands.

So yeah. This book has helped clarify a lot of unorganized thoughts I've had in my own life, putting them into intelligent and coherent words while adding so much insight I don't know if I would have ever gleaned elsewhere. The Road Less Travelled is now my favourite nonfiction book to exist. And I will never ever stop forcing all the people who surround me to read it.

Read it.

The author endeared me early on to his obvious skill, professionalism and empathy with his patients. The first part was fairly entertaining, with the right amount of insight and entertainment from Peck's own therapy sessions. I could identify with the people and situations and could pause at times for self reflection. There was a challenge to personal change as Peck built his case for seeking maturity and using therapy to achieve that end.

Peck is strongest as a therapist. His insight is keen, and his deductive/intuitive approach makes sense. But he's also rather ambitious. The middle section attempted to tie a loose story into a cohesive thesis on what Peck personally believed ought to happen in life. It went from being passive-objective to prescriptive-subjective. Eventually he was stretching into subjects somewhat beyond his grasp.

His forays into philosophy, theology and neuroscience didn't lend much credibility to his arguments. The final part of the book was clumsy, contradictory and seemed somewhat outdated. The chapter on synchronocity/serendipity was particularly trudgeworthy. He dragged psychology out of science and into mysticism. Which is fine if you're a fan of Oprah and Chopra. I'm not.

My journey down the Road Less Travelled started out on a sunny day with a compass and small, promising path. It ended with me being dragged down a dark alley-way by a man with a white stick.

I enjoyed reading The Road Less Traveled as I felt as though the author, Dr. Peck, was an older and much wiser friend intent on guiding me out of my current pathology. The book is written by a psychiatrist and seeks to help the reader explore her life through her preconceived notions and definitions of love, the self and personal values. Using a gentle voice and clear examples the author grapples with profound life questions. For example, Dr. Peck addresses the ways in which each person's unconscious manifests and attempts to be heard by its owner. He states, the "way in which the unconscious manifests itself and speaks to us if we care to listen (which we usually don't) is through our behavior" (Peck, 1978, p.248). He continues on in that particular passage to relate that specifically in regards to a patient and how she "acts out" within her therapeutic process.

The author is obviously very knowledgeable about his particular field of study, but what I find so effective about this book is his voice within the text. In the book, I think the author does a great job using what Fletcher describes as “Voice.” Fletcher states, when people write with voice, “they put the indelible stamp of their personalities on the information they are learning-they make it their own” (p.80). Peck starts the book by acknowledging how difficult life is and the challenge people have in realizing this difficulty as not a unique experience. Peck states, "I know about this moaning because I have done my share" (p.15). This bit of self-disclosure done in the humble manner in which he does it continues on throughout the book. Peck shares his insecurities and moments of struggle with grace and honesty. If I were to utilize this text in order to teach students how to achieve a great voice, I would highlight all of Peck's honest admissions and urge fledgling writers to mirror that same vulnerability.

This book is a thought-provoking expedition into the intricate realms of love, spirituality, and the depths of the human psyche. This book, which intertwines philosophy and psychology with seamless grace, challenges readers to reexamine their most steadfast beliefs and embark on a journey of self-discovery.

Peck delves into profound questions that resonate at the core of human existence: What is love? Is religion a conduit for spiritual growth, a path towards God-like consciousness? How does our unconscious mind shape our daily and spiritual lives? These inquiries, explored with a blend of wisdom and intellectual rigor, invite readers to peer into the inner workings of their own souls.

Throughout the book, Peck skillfully navigates the intersection of philosophy and psychology, illuminating the interconnectedness of these two disciplines. His exploration of the unconscious mind, a wellspring of untapped potential, serves as a beacon for those seeking to unlock deeper layers of self-awareness and, in turn, achieve a heightened sense of spiritual enlightenment.

One of the book's most compelling strengths lies in its ability to challenge preconceived notions and entrenched belief systems. Peck's prose is a catalyst for introspection, urging readers to confront their own assumptions about love, spirituality, and personal growth. It is a book that does not offer easy answers, but rather invites readers to grapple with profound questions and embark on their own journeys of self-discovery.

"The Road Less Traveled" is a beacon for those who seek to transcend the boundaries of conventional thought and delve into the complexities of the human experience. It does not provide a roadmap, but rather offers a compass, guiding readers towards a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in the universe. It deftly weaves together philosophy and psychology, inviting readers to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery. For those willing to traverse its pages, this book has the potential to be a profound catalyst for personal and spiritual growth.

Picked this up because it was recommended to me by several trusted persons as life changing.

Yup, it was life changing.

While there is lots of value as a self-help book penned by a psychiatrist, its true nature is a spiritual guide book by an enlightened person. This book is basically about how to live life better. My recurring response throughout the various sections was that the author is very sensible. His experience as a psychiatrist lends him not just theoretical but practical credibility when it comes to giving life advice. Hopefully as you live life you learn from your mistakes and even from the observable mistakes of others, but through interfacing on a deep level with multitudes of patients in all manners of distress and mental states he has learned from the mistakes, and successes, of many, many people.

Some favorite things from this first read through:
Section 1: Discipline
(if Jocko Willink's books are the Who/What/When/Where of Discipline, this section contains the How)
-Life is suffering and suffering well is a key to living life well. Incidentally, neurosis is the result of trying to avoid legitimate suffering, which in itself becomes suffering but of the illegitimate kind. Legitimate suffering, as life presents it to you, leads to progress and growth. Illegitimate suffering (originating from trying to avoid legitimate suffering) is damning, leading nowhere.
-The practice of experiencing the pains of life constructively is essentially what we call discipline, and there are four basic techniques for doing so:
1. Delaying gratification. Essentially working first and resting/recreating later and not ignoring unavoidable problems. Learn to recognize and call BS on your procrastinations.
2. Accepting responsibility. Always and only that responsibility which belongs to you, specifically. Neurotic people blame themselves for everything, persons with character disorders blame everyone else/circumstances for everything. While the former 'extreme ownership' is the more helpful of the two, find the golden mean. Freedom is the natural consequence of realizing your life/circumstances are your responsibility, just as captivity/diminishment is the natural consequence of misattributing that responsibility to external factors/escaping responsibility. Learn to recognize and call BS on your excuses.
3. Dedication to Truth/Reality. The more clearly you see reality, the better equipped you are to operate within it. Delusion is crazy dangerous. Keep an open mind, update your mental maps often, be willing to unlearn/relearn things, welcome challenge/change. Learn to recognize and call BS on your false perceptions.
4. Balancing. Discipline must be employed with flexibility and judgment, following a "time and season for all things" approach. Learn to recognize when your system of discipline is causing you to grow, and when it might be inhibiting your growth.

Section 2: Love
(Love is the Why, as it relates to Discipline. )
-There are many definitions of love and types of love, which can make discussion about love confusing. Love is the will (of sufficient intensity that it is translated into action) to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing spiritual growth (whether it's yourself/self-love, or others). Love is NOT: something that will result in the spiritual decline of another (depending on circumstances), a feeling ("falling in love" is just chemicals, wubbalubbadubdub), effortless (love requires exertion of some kind), dependency (love celebrates individuality and independence in the context of growth), an act of conformity (expressing love because it is expected or societally normal is not genuine, it must be a choice freely made).
-Similar to discipline, love must be applied judiciously and can take many forms: giving as well as withholding, praising as well as criticizing, comforting as well as arguing/struggling/confronting/urging/pushing/pulling. Therefore, a great deal of contextual knowledge must be gained (through the loving act of paying attention) before love can properly be administered, as well as a great deal of planning. The common thread throughout is that the lover is attending to the spiritual needs of the beloved, and not merely meeting their own needs.
-Loving someone (even yourself) requires the extension of one's self and that extension is what is meant by spiritual growth. The extension leads us to new and unfamiliar territory and our self becomes a new, different, expanded self. This growth involves risk (so courage is required) and pain (so discipline is required), so a full life will be full of pain (and joy) but the only alternative is not to life fully and diminish your life to a point of nonexistence (which many people do, in fact).

Section 3: Growth and Religion
(I didn't get much out of this section)
-He proposes "religion" is just whatever your worldview is in regards to morality etc, and so everyone has a religion. Semantics.
-He proposes that science is just a religion of skepticism, and that while it is a distinct improvement over a world view based on blind faith, it is incomplete/can be supplemented by a belief in "God" and other traditional religious concepts (but, as you guessed, these must be arrived upon individually with flexibility and judgment).

Section 4: Grace
(I didn't get much out of the first two thirds of this section)
-He establishes that your unconscious mind is much wiser and attune to reality than you are, and interestingly suggests that mental illness (and psychosomatic symptoms) arise as a result of you resisting your unconscious wisdom. He then proposes that "you" are your conscious, and that "God" is your unconscious (or rather, the collective unconscious, as opposed to your personal unconscious). Therefore, it is the ultimate goal of spiritual growth for your conscious to be aligned with your unconscious/the collective unconscious, and thereby to become (as one with) ~God (while retaining our conscious selves, not melding into the unconscious).
-Power can either be political or spiritual. Political power is the capacity to coerce others, overtly or covertly, to do one's will. This capacity resides in a position (leadership, or the possession of money). Spiritual power is the power to make decisions with maximum awareness, aka consciousness. This capacity resides in the individual itself. Godlike power is the power to make decisions with total awareness (and not be immobilized by the increased awareness of one's knowledge of the ramifications of those decisions), and omniscience actually makes decisions more difficult to make since the consequences of acting (or not) echo into the eternities.

OVERALL: really interesting read, will reread in the future. Most of the definitions and theories are really well thought out, though I disagree with some of the logic and rhetoric in sections 3 and 4. That said, he's the kind of person/author where the things he says that I do agree with make me more willing to entertain the things he says that I disagree with, instead of the other way around (you know, when someone makes 5 good points then their 6th terrible point makes you disavow about the first 5 good points).

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes philosophy or spiritual/personal growth.