The Road Less Travelled

Lea · Intermediate User Joined: Mar 08, 2008 Posts: 218

The Road Less Travelled is a book written by M. S. Peck. I have already recommended it somewhere on this site but it´s quite hidden so I think it deserves to be promoted better. It is a bestseller BTW and definitely worth reading. To give you an idea what it is about here is the contents:

Introduction

PART ONE: DISCIPLINE
Problems and Pain
Delaying Gratification
The Sins of the Father
Problem-Solving and Time
Responsibility
Neuroses and Character Disorders
Escape from Freedom
Dedication to Reality
Transference: The Outdated Map
Opennes to Chalenge
Witholding Truth
Balancing
The Healthiness of Depression
Renunciation and Rebirth

PART TWO: LOVE
Love defined
Falling in ´love´
The Myth of Romantic Love
More About Ego Boundaries
Dependency
Cathexis Without Love
´Self-Sacrifice´
Love is not a Feeling
The Work of Attention
The Risk of Loss
The Risk of Independence
The Risk of Commitment
The Risk of Confrontation
Love is Disciplined
Love is Separateness
Love and Psychotherapy
The Mystery of Love

PART THREE: GROWTH AND RELIGION
World Views and Religion
The Religion of Science
The Case of Kathy
The Case of Marcia
The Case of Theodore
The Baby and the Bath Water
Scientific Tunnel Vision

PART FOUR: GRACE
The Miracle of Health
The Miracle of the Unconscious
The Miracle of Serendipity
The Definiton of Grace
The Miracle of Evolution
The Alpha and the Omega
Entropy and Original Sin
The Problem of Evil
The Evolution of Consciousness
The Nature of Power
Grace and Mental Illness: The Myth of Orestes
Resistance to Grace
The Welcoming of Grace
Afterword (also includes advice on how to find a good psychotherapist)

Lewis · Newbie User Joined: Dec 10, 2007 Posts: 24

hey Lea,

I thought you'd like to know, that on your thoughtful recommendation, I ordered "A road less travelled" and have been reading it the last week or so....I'm halfway through part two at the moment and I am thoroughly enjoying it! So far this has the makings to be one of the greatest books I've ever read!

and so I recommend it to anyone else too....it's basic thesis so far is, life is difficult, get used to it [albeit slightly less blunt than that!]....but also I love what he writes about LOVE!....how "real" love requires sacrifice...doing things when you DONT feel like it....and the two roadblocks of laziness and fear....real love requires work and courage....but then he goes on to say how ultimately this unselfish sacrificial kind of love is actually MORE selfish because in the long run you will win out....and so will everyone else....it's an upward cycle....whereas hiding from fears and work leads to downward spirals......of course he writes all this far more elequently and delicately than I do.....but so far so good!

I'd recommend it!
thank Lea!

YankeeBob · Intermediate User Joined: Aug 29, 2007 Posts: 113

Thanks for your post.

Another book you may find insightful is John Bradshaw's "The Family".

Take care. Be well.

kyle · Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 11:09 pm Post subject:

I should pick up a copy of that book!

YankeeBob · Intermediate User Joined: Aug 29, 2007 Posts: 113

I was troubled by the remark that there was offensive material in this book.

The chapters in my version are:
* Chapter 1: Overview: The Crisis
* Chapter 2: The Family as a Rule Bound Social System
* Chapter 3: Pofile of a Functioning Family
* Chapter 4: Profile of a Chronically Dysfunctioning Family System
* Chapter 5: Compulsive Families
* Chapter 6: The Persecuted: Checklist for how your self esteem was damaged in an Abusing Family
* Chapter 7: The "Bad" Child
* Chapter 8: The most common impact of Chronic Family Dysfunction : Co-dependency
* Chapter 9: Road Map for Reovering Your Disabled Will
* Chapter 10: Road Map for Unconvering Your Lost Self
* Chapter 11: Road Map for Discovering Your New Self.

Now this is not a book for children or juveniles. Sexual abuse is discussed and there are some other issues raised which are confronting.