About the Book
Forgiveness has often viewed as a religious obligation but is increasingly being advocated as a means of healing, release and promoting wellbeing. Forgiveness is variously viewed as a duty, virtue or cure, but when it comes to practising forgiveness in real life we find it is always caught up in the complexity of the situation. This book shines a light on how we tend to think about forgiveness in practice, including examples from social work, family therapy, chaplaincy and criminal justice.
The book contains many different perspectives on how we think about forgiveness, including overviews of four major religions and reflections from those working in the healing professions. Without advocating a particular approach this book raises important questions around self-forgiveness and forgiving institutions and encourages the reader to think again about forgiveness and how it impacts, challenges and transforms relationships.
Table of Contents:
Introduction. Stephen Hance, Dean of Derby. 1. Reflections on Forgiveness: Some Jewish Perspectives. Howard Cooper, Director of Spiritual Development, Finchley Reform Synagogue. 2. Forgiveness and Christianity. Anthony Bash, Honorary Professor, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University. 3. Forgiveness in Islam: From Prophetic Practice to Divine Principle. Reza Shah-Kazemi, Senior Research Associate, Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. 4. Forgiveness in the Buddhist Tradition. Vajragupta, Member of the Triratna Buddhist Community. 5. Out of the Depths: Offenders and Forgiveness. Gwen Adshead, Forensic Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, and Jesse Butler Meadows, Doctor, Hampshire. 6. Uses and Abuses of Self-Forgiveness. Stephen Cherry, Dean of King's College, Cambridge. 7. On Forgiveness and Medical Harm. Deborah Bowman, Professor, Bioethics & Clinical Ethics, St. George's, University of London. 8. Restorative Justice and Forgiveness. Marian Liebmann, Mediation Trainer, Art Therapist and Supervisor. 9. Understanding Revenge: An Invitation to Let Go. Robin Shohet, Psychotherapist and Supervisor. 10. A Pastor Looks at Forgiveness. Stephen Hance, Dean of Derby. 11. The Role of Forgiveness After Interpersonal Abuse. Christiane Sanderson, Senior Lecturer, Psychology, University of Roehampton. 12. Families, Forgiving and Withholding Forgiveness. Honor Rhodes, Director of Strategic Development, Tavistock Relationships. 13. Birth Parents, Adoption, Identity and Forgiveness. Amanda Boorman. 14. Forgiveness and End of Life. Steve Nolan, Chaplain, Princess Alice Hospice, Esher. 15. Face to Face with Endless Mercy (How a Christian Community Forgives). Richard Carter, Associate Vicar for Mission, St Martin-in-the-Fields. 16. Forgiveness, the Individual and the Conflict Society. Graham Spencer, Reader in Social and Political Conflict, University of Portsmouth, and Lord Alderdice, Director of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict, Oxford University. 17. Bearing Witness: How the RESTORE Programme Helps Prisoners Change the Narrative of Their Lives. Marina Cantacuzino, Founder, The Forgiveness Project. 18. Addiction and Forgiveness. Chris Cook, Professor of Spirituality, Theology & Health, Department of Theology & Religion, Durham University, and Wendy Dossett, Senior Lecturer, Religious Studies, University of Chester. Concluding Thoughts. Liz Gulliford, Research Fellow, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, School of Education, University of Birmingham. About the Contributors.
About the Author :
Christiane Sanderson BSc., MSc. is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Roehampton. With 26 years' experience working in child sexual abuse, sexual violence, complex trauma and domestic abuse, she has run consultancy and training for parents, teachers, social workers, nurses, therapists, counsellors, solicitors, the NSPCC, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Committee, the Methodist Church, the Metropolitan Police Service and the Refugee Council. She is the author of Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma, Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma, Counselling Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and The Seduction of Children, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Steve Nolan, Ph.D., is a palliative care chaplain at Princess Alice Hospice, Surrey, UK, where he works daily with people who are dying, supporting them and their families. He regularly teaches spiritual care to students visiting the hospice and is a tutor on the MTh in Chaplaincy Studies at St. Michael's College, Llandaff, part of Cardiff University. Marina Cantacuzino is an award-winning journalist who in 2003, in response to the imminent invasion of Iraq, embarked on a personal project collecting stories from people who had lived through violence, tragedy or injustice and sought forgiveness rather than revenge. In 2004, she founded The Forgiveness Project (www.theforgivenessproject.com), a charitable organisation that uses real personal narratives to explore how ideas around forgiveness, reconciliation and conflict resolution can be used to impact positively on people's lives. In 2012, Marina spoke at the UN General Assembly about the work of The Forgiveness Project and, in 2015, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion.
Review :
This book is close to my heart. It holds the scarcely remembered practice of forgiveness gently, with both hands, sifting its limits and potential, and rebalancing its nuanced place in the world of traumatic, unresolved loss. It brings to bear both the scholarly and the experiential, the religious and the secular, on its cumulative journey. It investigates complexity, salvaging space for narratives and dialogues of meaning and recovery, inspiring us to remember the way from head to heart.
This is a rich collection of reflections on the desirability (or otherwise) of forgiveness in a wide range of contexts, from prisons through medical practice to the pastoral work of clergy. Although the various contributors are committed to distinct - and sometimes inconsistent - understandings of what forgiveness means, there are several recurring themes, such as the complex relationships between forgiving, being forgiven and self-forgiveness, and the differences between forgiving individuals and forgiving institutions. Amongst the strengths of the collection is the wide variety of real-life examples discussed, allowing the reader to test their general understanding of forgiveness against such contexts as interpersonal abuse, addiction, murder and the bombing of cities. This makes for a challenging - and sometimes moving - read.
Forgiveness in Practice is a momentous achievement. It reveals the anatomy of forgiveness not by indulging in abstract theorising, but instead by drawing on practitioners' direct experiences with individuals exploring, embracing or struggling with forgiveness. The numerous chapters demonstrate the pervasive nature of forgiveness intersecting with our lives virtually from cradle to the grave. You will not find any self-righteousness in this book, but you will find ample courage to tackle head-on the various taboos surrounding this big topic. This book will change the way we talk and do forgiveness.
