M. Scott Peck je psychiatrem, jeho první kniha byla u nás uvedena již v roce 1993.

Kniha obsahuje jeho psychologické postřehy a úvahy o kázni, lásce, duchovním růstu, víry a milosti.

Autorův životopis (anglicky):

Dr. Peck was born on May 22, 1936 in New York City, the younger of two sons to David Warner Peck, a prominent lawyer and jurist, and his wife Elizabeth Saville. He married Lily Ho in 1959, and they had three children. Dr. Peck received his B.A. degree magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1958, and his M.D. degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1963. From 1963 until 1972, he served in the United States Army, resigning from the position of Assistant Chief Psychiatry and Neurology Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster. From 1972 to 1983, Dr. Peck was engaged in the private practice of psychiatry in Litchfield County, Connecticut. On March 9, 1980 at the age of 43, Dr. Peck was nondenominationally baptized by a Methodist minister in an Episcopalian convent (where he has frequently gone on retreat). Dr. Peck s first book, The Road Less Traveled, was published by Simon and Schuster in 1978. The book has sold over six million copies to date in North America alone, and has been translated into over 20 languages. Dr. Peck s second book, People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil, was published by Simon and Schuster in October of 1983. It is recognized as a ground-breaking contribution to the field of psychology, and is currently a best seller in Japan. Dr. Peck s third book, What Return Can I Make? Dimensions of the Christian Experience, was published by Simon and Schuster in December of 1985. It contains Marilyn Von Waldner s singing as well as Dr. Peck s essays and audio commentary. It was republished by Harpers (San Francisco) in the fall of 1995, under the new title, Gifts For the Journey: Treasures of the Christian Life, and is being republished again by Renaissance Press. A fourth book entitled The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, was published in June 1987 by Simon and Schuster and is recognized as another ground breaking contribution to the behavioral sciences. Dr. Peck s fifth book and first work of fiction, A Bed By the Window: A Novel of Mystery and Redemption, was published by Bantam in August, 1990. It was hailed by the New York Times as something of a miracle. The Friendly Snowflake: A Fable of Faith, Love and Family, Dr. Peck s sixth book, and first for children as well as adults, (Turner Publishing, Inc.) and was illustrated by Dr. Peck s son, Christopher Peck, and published in October 1992. Dr. Peck s seventh book, A World Waiting To Be Born: Civility Rediscovered, a work on organizational behavior, was published by Bantam in March 1993. Meditations From the Road, was published by Simon & Schuster in August 1993. Further Along the Road Less Traveled, a collection of Dr. Peck s edited lectures (1979-1993) was published by Simon & Schuster in October 1993. In Search of Stones: A Pilgrimage of Faith, Reason and Discovery was published by Hyperion in April 1995. It is also illustrated by his son, Christopher. It has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as a quirky, magical blend of autobiography, travel, spiritual meditation, history and Arthurian legend. A second novel In Heaven As On Earth: A Vision of the Afterlife, was published by Hyperion in the spring of 1996. The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety, is a synthesis of all Dr. Pecks work and was published by Simon & Schuster in January 1997. With his background in medicine, psychiatry and theology he has also been in a unique position to write Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical Perspectives in Euthanasia and Mortality, this first topical book, published by Harmony Books (Crown) in April 1997. Golf and the Spirit: Lessons for the Journey was published by Harmony Books in 1999. It too is illustrated by Christopher Peck. Dr. Peck is a nationally recognized authority on the relationship between religion and science, and the science of psychology in particular. In 1992 Dr. Peck was selected by the American Psychiatric Association as a distinguished psychiatrist lecturer for his outstanding achievement in the field of psychiatry as an educator, researcher and clinician. Dr. Peck, although now semi-retired, still does some management consulting to top management of organizations in the public, private, and non profit sectors, as well as occasional writing and editing. In 1984, Dr. Peck and Mrs. Peck met with nine others to establish The Foundation for Community Encouragement, a tax-exempt, nonprofit, public educational foundation, whose mission is to promote and teach the principles of Community. The Foundation (FCE) has seventy selected and trained leaders who conduct workshops for the general public and for organizations as diverse as churches, schools, government agencies, prisons, universities and businesses - throughout the world. Although now both retired from FCE s Board of Directors, the Pecks continue to serve FCE in an elder status which represents the rare privilege of being able to give advice without having any responsibility. As a result of his pioneering community building work, Dr. Peck is the recipient of the 1984 Kaleidoscope Award for Peacemaking and the 1994 Temple International Peace Prize. In 1996 he was also recipient of The Learning, Faith and Freedom Medal from Georgetown University. M. Scott Peck died Sept. 25, 2005 at his home on Bliss Road in Warren, Conn. Dr. Peck was 69 and had Parkinson s disease as well as pancreatic and liver duct cancer.