The Unburdened Heart

by Nelson, Mariah Burton

• ISBN13: 9780062515995
• ISBN10: 0062515993
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco

Summary

     Molested as a young teenager, Mariah Burton Nelson found herself decades later still consumed with anger. Drawing on her own poignant story of betrayal and reconciliation, along with psychological studies, spiritual wisdom, poetry and original interviews with othrs who have forgiven offenses great and small, she shows how forgiveness can help us achieve a profound and lasting peace. Her five keys to forgiveness--Awareness, Validation, Compassion, Humility, and Self-Forgiveness--help us to understand, validate, and ultimately free ourselves from the overwhelming burdens of past wounds--from the shame, recrimination, retribution, and superiority that all too often consume us. Powerful, personal, and ultimately practical, this guide offers new hope for anyone who wants to explore forgiveness as a way of life.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Part I: Risk and Resistance
My Year of Forgiving Dangerously	3	(14)
Why People Don't Forgive	17	(19)
Why Forgive?	36	(17)
Part II: Five Keys to Forgiveness and Freedom
Awareness: The Courage to Inquire	53	(13)
Validation: Letting Pain Be Pain	66	(13)
Compassion: Seeking the Humanity in Others	79	(18)
Humility: ``We Are All Struggling''	97	(13)
Self-Forgiveness: ``The Damage I Have Done to Myself Fades''	110	(19)
Part III: Complications, Closure, and Beyond
Apologies and Other Conditions: ``I'll Forgive You If...''	129	(22)
Other Complications	151	(15)
Reconciliation or Good-bye?	166	(17)
Freedom	183	(10)
A Conversation with Mariah Burton Nelson	193	(5)
Reading Group Discussion Questions	198	(3)
Acknowledgments	201	(2)
Notes	203	(5)
Index	208