To Forgive Is Human: How to Put Your Past in the Past [Paperback]

Michael E. McCullough (Author), Steven J. Sandage (Author), Everett L. Worthington Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 1997

Forgiving can be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. Perhaps you sense deep down that it will be good for you and others to put the past in the past. But sometimes no matter what you do, you just can't seem to forgive and get on with life. You still feel hurt, bitter and angry. How can you break the cycle? Grounding their analysis and advice in the latest psychological research, the authors of To Forgive Is Human reveal how you can forgive and begin to repair broken relationships. Inside you'll discover

• why, when you forgive, it sometimes doesn't last
• what you can learn about forgiveness from the latest brain research
• why you can't forgive by forgetting
• why simply deciding to forgive often doesn't do the trick
• how memory research can help you actually change your memories
• what it means to forgive yourself
• how to balance justice and mercy
• how children can learn to forgive
• how you can gain empathy for those who have hurt you

Life is messy. Relationships are messy. And forgiveness is messy. But with this complete book on forgiveness, you can learn how to move ahead positively and constructively in ways you may never have thought possible. To err may be human, but so is to forgive.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forgive and forget may sound like a worthy goal, but it's damn hard to do. So how do we cope with the bitterness and grudges that eat at our soul like menacing termites, destroying our ability to love, to trust, to just get over it? Here's a book with practical, solid guidance about forgiveness. This is the graduate program that comes after the school of hard knocks. We learn the in-depth mechanics and mindset of forgiveness, and even get to taste the rewards.

Review

Forgiving can be one of the hardest things we'll ever do. We sense deep down that it will be good for us and others to put the past in the past, but no matter what we do, we just can't seem to forgive and forget and get on with life. How can we break the cycle of feeling hurt, bitter and angry? To Forgive Is Human reveals how we can begin to repair broken relationships by examining why, when we forgive, it sometimes doesn't seem to last, what we can learn about forgiveness from the latest medical and scientific research on the human brain, why we can't forgive just by forgetting, why simply deciding to forgive often doesn't do the trick, how memory research can help us to actually change our memories, what it means to forgive yourself, how to balance justice and mercy, how children can learn to forgive, and how we can gain empathy for those who have hurt us. By their very nature, life and relationships are messy. But with To Forgive Is Human, we can learn how to move ahead positively and constructively in ways we never knew possible. To Forgive Is Human is must reading by anyone who is struggle to live by the commandment and prayer, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us". -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books; Print On Demand Edition edition (February 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830816836
• ISBN-13: 978-0830816835
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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