The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships [Hardcover]

Gary D. Chapman (Author), Jennifer Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

How many ways are there to say “I’m sorry?” Well, it

depends on your language of apology.

Just as you have a different love language, you also hear and

express the words and gestures of apology in a different language.

Best-selling author Gary Chapman has teamed with counselor

Jennifer Thomas to explore the different languages of apology and

reach a whole new audience with this easy to follow and quickly

applicable communication tool.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chapman, author of the bestselling The Five Love Languages, teams up with psychologist Thomas for thoughtful dissection of another tricky subject. Chapman and Thomas choose to tackle the apology because, as with love, understanding it is essential for developing, maintaining and repairing relationships. Apology, however, covers a much broader scope, applying to all varieties of relationships, from the deeply personal connection between intimate partners to the formal relationships between nations. Chapman and Thomas's basic observation that we don't all agree on what constitutes a sincere apology is perhaps not surprising, but it may, as they show, help couples who can't resolve arguments because their apologies aren't accepted. The authors stress that you need to learn the "language" of the person you are apologizing to: for one person, it may be expressing regret, while for another it's accepting responsibility or making restitution. Especially useful is the chapter that helps readers learn which language of apology feels most sincere to them. Chapman and Thomas are most apt when they seek to repair relationships not with large ideas but with simple basics that are too often taken for granted. (Sept.)
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Book Description

Just as you have a different love language, you also hear and express the words and gestures of apology in a different language. New York Times bestselling author Gary Chapman has teamed up with counselor Jennifer Thomas on this groundbreaking study of the way we apologize, discovering that it's not just a matter of will--it's a matter of how. By helping people identify the languages of apology, this book clears the way toward healing and sustaining vital relationships. The authors detail proven techniques for giving and receiving effective apologies. First time in paperback.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Northfield Publishing; 1 edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881273571
• ISBN-13: 978-1881273578
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

173 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A healing journey, October 9, 2006

By 

M. E. Shores (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships (Hardcover)

The first thing I had to do when I received my copy of The Five Languages of Apology was to take The Apology Language Profile in the back of the book. I approached it in the happy, fun way I used to look at surveys in women's magazines until the very first question stopped me dead in my tracks. Since it was about how a spouse should apologize for failing to acknowledge a wedding anniversary, it hit home right away. I knew this was going to be a serious book and that it would bring up some very raw emotions. My husband had recently intended to acknowledge our anniversary with a beautiful gift, but it was stolen from his car before he had the chance, and nothing more was said or done about it. Even though I knew my husband was not to blame, I needed someone to take responsibility and there was no one to do that thus creating an unresolved issue we would eventually work through. As I read more of the questions, I experienced emotions ranging from sadness to anger and by the end of it I realized that very few people had ever apologized to me at all let alone took the time to figure out my apology language! It made perfect sense to me that my preferred apology language is accepting responsibility, since people who come from dsyfunctional homes often long for someone to own up to what he or she has done or said, and because this rarely happens, communication becomes distorted. In the midst of my own issues this book was addressing, I was comforted by the words Chapman and Thomas used to lead me from feeling very alone and rejected because of the lack of apologies given to me, to experiencing some healing and closure due to the new understanding I have been given. I have also become much more aware of the apologies I see in movies and in my relationships with friends. I do believe that if we could get to the point of being willing to apologize, even if we have to stumble through it at first, we would broaden our ability to truly love one another.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quick and Useful Resource, January 14, 2007

By 

Brenda Nixon (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships (Hardcover)

Since I read The Five Love Languages of Children, I knew The Five Languages of Apology would be just as thoroughly insightful. Who couldn't use some help enhancing relationships? The authors provide various examples, stories, and questions without making the reader feel criticized or reprimanded. For me, page 88, "statements of genuine repentance" was practical. Chapter 14, Apologizing to Yourself is thought-provoking. The authors also emphasize that apologizing is a choice as is forgiveness.

According to the authors, the "art of apology" needs to be learned in childhood. When appropriate, parents need to apologize to their children - it's a way of taking responsibility for one's behavior. Since parents are the first and most influential teachers, we teach kids to apologize by doing so ourselves. It's not a sign of weakness to apologize - but of maturity and accountability.

Chapter 15, "What If We All Learned to Apologize Effectively?" is summed up with, "Fewer people would turn to drugs and alcohol in an effort to find escape from broken relationships. And fewer people would live on the streets of America."

Keep this book on your shelf or bedside table as a quick and useful resource for the relationship challenges in daily life.

Now, I'd like to see these authors write a book on how to confront effectively.

~ Brenda Nixon, Author of Parenting Power in the Early Years and The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Better Installments in the "Five Languages" Series, June 11, 2007

By 

David R. Bess (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships (Hardcover)

This book is one of the better installments in the "Five Love Languages" series of Gary Chapman. Having read the original Five Love Languages title and a few of the follow-ups, this one provides the most additional fresh material to the initial volume. Being able to communicate a sincere apology is an increasingly needed skill in today's age of dodging responsibility and laying blame on others. Chapman and Thomas do a good job in providing the reader insight as to how to apologize in five different styles, depending upon the recipient's personality or "apology language." Included with the book are an apology profile and a group study guide. For anyone wanting truly to make amends in a fractured relationship, this volume is a good place to start.