List Books » The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth
Authors: M. Scott Peck
ISBN-13: 9780743243155, ISBN-10: 0743243153
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Date Published: January 2003
Edition: 25th Anniversary Edition
M. Scott Peck's publishing history reflects his own evolution as a serious and widely acclaimed writer, thinker, psychiatrist, and spiritual guide. Since his groundbreaking bestseller, The Road Less Traveled, was first published in 1978, his insatiable intellectual curiosity has taken him in various new directions with virtually each new book: the subject of healing human evil in People of the Lie (1982), where he first briefly discussed exorcism and possession; the creative experience of community in The Different Drum (1987); the role of civility in personal relationships and society in A World Waiting to Be Born (1993); an examination of the complexities of life and the paradoxical nature of belief in Further Along the Road Less Traveled (1993); and an exploration of the medical, ethical, and spiritual issues of euthanasia in Denial of the Soul (1999); as well as a novel, a children's book, and other works. A graduate of both Harvard University and Case Western Reserve, Dr. Peck served in the Army Medical Corps before maintaining a private practice in psychiatry. For the last twenty years, he has devoted much of his time and financial resources to the work of the Foundation for Community Encouragement, a nonprofit organization that he helped found in 1984. Dr. Peck lives in Connecticut.
The Road Less Traveled continues to enable us to explore the nature of loving relationships and leads us toward a new serenity and fullness of life. It helps us determine how to distinguish dependency from love; how to become a more sensitive parent; and ultimately how to become one's own true self.
This book proved a smash when it debuted in 1978, selling several million copies. This 25th-anniversary edition includes a new introduction in which the publisher claims the author "explains the ideas that shaped this book and continue to influence an expanding audience of readers." That might sound like PR, but this truly was one of the first books dealing with the psychology of spirituality and paved the way for numerous others that followed in its wake. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Introduction to the 25th Anniversary Edition | 5 | |
Preface | 11 | |
I | Discipline | |
Problems and Pain | 15 | |
Delaying Gratification | 18 | |
The Sins of the Father | 21 | |
Problem-Solving and Time | 27 | |
Responsibility | 32 | |
Neuroses and Character Disorders | 35 | |
Escape from Freedom | 39 | |
Dedication to Reality | 44 | |
Transference: The Outdated Map | 46 | |
Openness to Challenge | 51 | |
Withholding Truth | 59 | |
Balancing | 64 | |
The Healthiness of Depression | 69 | |
Renunciation and Rebirth | 72 | |
II | Love | |
Love Defined | 81 | |
Falling in "Love" | 84 | |
The Myth of Romantic Love | 91 | |
More About Ego Boundaries | 94 | |
Dependency | 98 | |
Cathexis Without Love | 106 | |
"Self-Sacrifice" | 111 | |
Love Is Not a Feeling | 116 | |
The Work of Attention | 120 | |
The Risk of Loss | 131 | |
The Risk of Independence | 134 | |
The Risk of Commitment | 140 | |
The Risk of Confrontation | 150 | |
Love Is Disciplined | 155 | |
Love Is Separateness | 160 | |
Love and Psychotherapy | 169 | |
The Mystery of Love | 180 | |
III | Growth and Religion | |
World Views and Religion | 185 | |
The Religion of Science | 193 | |
The Case of Kathy | 197 | |
The Case of Marcia | 208 | |
The Case of Theodore | 210 | |
The Baby and the Bath Water | 221 | |
Scientific Tunnel Vision | 225 | |
IV | Grace | |
The Miracle of Health | 235 | |
The Miracle of the Unconscious | 243 | |
The Miracle of Serendipity | 253 | |
The Definition of Grace | 260 | |
The Miracle of Evolution | 263 | |
The Alpha and the Omega | 268 | |
Entropy and Original Sin | 271 | |
The Problem of Evil | 277 | |
The Evolution of Consciousness | 280 | |
The Nature of Power | 284 | |
Grace and Mental Illness: The Myth of Orestes | 289 | |
Resistance to Grace | 297 | |
The Welcoming of Grace | 306 | |
Afterword | 312 |