A Better Way: The surprising path to a complete life.

by Peter E. Dawson, Gregg Lewis (Contributor)

For nearly 60 years dentists from around the world have traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida to attend Peter Dawson’s seminars on “The Concept of Complete Dentistry.™” He’s personally taught more than 50,000 of those practitioners. In the process he literally redefined dentistry and its standard of care by challenging his professional peers to raise their sites beyond “usual and customary” practices, to become true physicians of the masticatory system. Yet why would anyone decide to read a book about a dentist, no matter how accomplished? Perhaps, because Pete Dawson is more than a dentist. A plethora of achievements plus a wealth of unusual life experiences have provided him great insight and wisdom. Yet this is not an advice book. It’s an inspiring story of persistence—from a man who overcame hardship, professional ridicule and injustice, and who, at the age of 88, still speaks and lectures to thousands of dentists a year. It’s a coming-of-age memoir set in the natural outdoor wonderland of pre-Disney Florida. It’s an adventure tale about a young man who waterskied behind the Goodyear blimp and once skippered a sailboat through a Pacific Ocean typhoon. It’s a first-person chronicling of a genuine pilgrimage of faith. On top of all this, it’s a heart-warming and heart-wrenching love story. But the most important reason for reading this book? It’s the promise reflected in its title and in Pete Dawson’s life-long quest to discover A Better Way. A Better Way to practice dentistry, for sure. But also, A Better Way to define success. A Better Way to balance the demands of a career with the needs of a family. In short, A Better Way to live.

472 pages, Paperback

Published August 22, 2018

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading A Better Way, an autobiography of Pete Dawson, written with Gregg Lewis. Gregg is my brother-in-law, and I admit there could be a little prejudice in my opinion; but this is an engrossing read. Dr. Dawson has led an extraordinary life, and has made the effort in his last years to pass along some of the wisdom he’s gained along the way. Gregg is a talented interviewer and a word-master, so the enriching story is exceptionally well-told. I especially appreciated the last (sorta summary) chapter. I cannot express it any better or more concisely than they did, and I’m having trouble curating the essence for a “sound bite” here, but he discusses: too much stuff, too little time, too many projects, the either/or rule, too much media, too little Bible, too much pride, too little to exercise, too many clothes, too many of etc., too much worry, too much wasted time, too little love, too many unwise choices, and the ultimate choice. The only negative I would suggest is that the book is long- but then there’s a lot of story to tell and life lessons to be shared.