The Road That Should Be Taken

Yet another psychology book and highly recommended read! While this book is dense and written in scientific jargon at times, Scott Peck is truly a genius psychotherapist. He allows all of his readers to take away tidbits of the wisdom he has accumulated over the years as a therapist for hundreds of different patients. Broken up into four main sections, Discipline, Love, Growth and Religion, and Grace, Peck goes into in depth detail about what he has found to be true about each of these subjects. From fine tuning the discipline that all of us possess, to defining what love is and what it is not, to defining religion's role in a very scientific world, and how grace can be viewed as God himself within humans, Peck develops and presents outstandingly incredible hypotheses concerning the human brain and consciousness in the face of all that life throws at us. He seems to be have been able to analyze all of his topics from every angle, and this impression is probably due in part to the fact that he has helped many many people with many many different sorts of psychoanalytical problems. This book has truly changed my outlook on my own struggle with a mental disorder (OCD). It has given me a better understanding of how mental disorders even exist within the brain as well as how they can be handled and lived with without completely taking over one's life. I believe that this book has the power to speak to every one of its readers differently; all of the content within it is truly mind-blowing. As the title expresses, the road to truly coming to terms with who we are and trying our best to defy our limitations is a road that not many choose to travel because of how hard it is to stay on the path. If you are looking for a read that will challenge you to face yourself and travel on the tough road, then this is certainly the book for you!
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Some of my favorite quotes from The Road Less Traveled:

"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it."

"You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time."

"I define love thus: The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth."

"Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit."

"Not only do self-love and love of others go hand in hand but ultimately they are indistinguishable."

"Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom."

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