Forgiveness Is a Choice is a self-help book for people who have been deeply hurt by another and caught in a vortex of anger, depression, and resentment.

As a creator of the first scientifically proven forgiveness program in the country, Robert D. Enright shows how forgiveness can reduce anxiety and depression while increasing self-esteem and hopefulness toward one's future.

This groundbreaking work demonstrates how forgiveness, approached in the correct manner, benefits the forgiver far more than the forgiven. Filled with wisdom and warm encouragement, the book leads the reader on a path that will bring clarity and peace.

Enright is careful to distinguish forgiveness from "pseudoforgiveness" and to reassure readers that forgiveness does not mean accepting continued abuse or even reconciling with the offender. Rather, by giving the gift of forgiveness, readers are encouraged to confront and let go of their pain in order to regain their lives.

Robert D. Enright, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has been a leader in the scientific study of forgiveness and its effects since 1985. Time magazine referred to him as "the forgiveness trailblazer." He is the author of more than 100 publications, including five books.

He and his colleagues have developed and tested a pathway to forgiveness that has helped incest survivors, and people in drug rehabilitation, in hospice, in shelters for abused women, and in cardiac units of hospitals, among others. His recent work has been in schools within conflict regions, such as Belfast, Northern Ireland, assisting teachers to deliver forgiveness programs to students.

Acknowledgments

I. Forgiveness is a Choice

1. Forgiveness: A Path to Freedom
2. What Forgiveness Is…and What It Is Not
3. Why Forgive…and the Consequences of Not Forgiving

II. The Process of Forgiveness

1. A Map and Tools for Your Journey
2. Acknowledging Your Anger
3. Confronting the Depth of Your Anger
4. Committing to Forgive
5. Gaining Perspectives
6. Building Positive Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviors
7. Experiencing Discovery and Release From Emotional Prison
8. Saying "I Forgive You"

III. Going Deeper

1. More Questions to Help You Forgive
2. Helping Clients Forgive
3. Wanting to Be Forgiven
4. Reconciling

References

Index