A graduate of both Harvard University and Case Western Reserve, Dr Peck served in the Army Medical Corps from 1963 to 1972 and had a private practice in psychiatry from 1972 to 1983. He also devoted much of his time and financial resources to the work of the Foundation for Community Encouragement, a nonprofit organization which he and his wife, Lily, helped found in 1984. His bestselling books include The Road Less Travelled and Beyond, A World Waiting to Be Born, and What Return Can I Make? Dr Peck died in 2005.