M.(organ) Scott Peck, MD — RIP

Scott Peck was my favorite shrink. The first sentences in each of his three big "Road" books went

1. Life is difficult.


2. Life is complex.


3. There are no easy answers.

In addition to his 3 "Road" books, Peck wrote about golf: Golf and the Spirit. In his "Road" books, Peck frequently wrote about his wife, Lily Ho Peck, and mother of their three sons. After 55 years of marriage, Lily divorced Peck. After 37 years of marriage and a divorce myself, I couldn't imagine a divorce after a half-century of marriage, but stuff happens. If this is (fair & balanced) disjuncture, so be it.


[x The New York Times]
M. Scott Peck, self-help author
By Edward Wyatt

Dr. M. Scott Peck, the psychiatrist and author whose best-selling book "The Road Less Traveled" offered millions of readers an inspirational prescription of self-discipline, died Sunday at his home in Warren, Connecticut. He was 69.

The cause was complications of pancreatic and liver duct cancer, said Michael Levine, a friend and publicist.

Peck is among the founding fathers of the self-help genre of books. "The Road Less Traveled," published in 1978, and its later companion volumes have sold more than five million copies in North America, according to Peck's publisher, Simon & Schuster. The books have been translated into more than 20 languages, the publisher said.

"'The Road Less Traveled' really marked the beginning of contemporary self-help," said Jan Miller, a literary agent whose firm, Dupree Miller & Associates, represents other stars in the field. "It was a significant work because he was able to blend the psychology and the spiritual so magnificently."


In mid-1983, five years after publication, "The Road Less Traveled" reached The New York Times best-seller list. It has since spent 694 weeks on the list, the equivalent of more than 13 years.


The book focused on Peck's core belief that, as stated in its opening sentence, "Life is difficult," and that its problems can be addressed only through self-discipline. Humans, however, tend to try to avoid problems, a habit that only creates more difficulties, Peck said.

Copyright © 2005 The New York Times