Forgiveness, Marina Cantacuzino
Forgiveness, Marina Cantacuzino
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Forgiveness
An Exploration

Author: Marina Cantacuzino

Narrator: Marina Cantacuzino

Unabridged: 10 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/04/2022


Synopsis

I forgive you.
 
Three simple words behind which sits an intriguing and complex concept. These words can be used to absolve a meaningless squabble, or said to someone who has caused you great harm. They can liberate you from guilt, or consciously place blame on your shoulders.

Forgiveness can often be perceived as saccharine and overtly religious, something just for the spiritually superior or mentally strong. But really it is a gritty, risky concept that is so often relevant to our ordinary everyday lives. Forgiveness explores the subject from every angle, coming from a place of enquiry rather than persuasion, presenting it as an offering, never a prescription.

Marina Cantacuzino seeks to investigate, unpick and debate the limits and possibilities of forgiveness – in our relationships, for our physical and mental wellbeing, how it plays out in international politics and within the criminal justice system, and where it intersects with religious faith. Cantacuzino speaks to people across the globe who have considered forgiveness in different forms and circumstances. She talks to a survivor of Auschwitz; to someone who accidentally killed a friend; to people who have lost loved ones in acts of violence; to a former combatant in The Troubles as well as to the daughter of someone he murdered.

Through these real stories, expert opinion and the author’s experience from two decades working in this field, the reader gets to better understand what forgiveness is and what it most definitely isn’t, how it can be an important element in breaking the cycle of suffering, and ultimately how it might help transform fractured relationships and mend broken hearts.

About Marina Cantacuzino

Marina Cantacuzino is an author, broadcaster and award-winning journalist who has written for most British mainstream publications including the Guardian, the DailyTelegraph and Marie Claire. In 2003, in response to the invasion of Iraq, she embarked on a personal project collecting stories of people who had lived through trauma and injustice, and yet sought forgiveness rather than revenge. As a result Cantacuzino founded The Forgiveness Project and started speaking widely about forgiveness and restorative storytelling.   The Forgiveness Project continues to work with both victims/survivors and former perpetrators to better understand how individuals and communities can rebuild their lives and create a more compassionate world following hurt and trauma.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dee

FIVE STARS***** ( ARC kindly provided by Netgalley) "When I talk of forgiveness I mean the ability to let go of the right to revenge and to slip the chains of rage that bind you to the person who harmed you. When you forgive you are free of the hatred and anger that locks you in a state of victimho......more

Goodreads review by Claire

This was a book that’s really made me think. The things these people managed to forgive were heartbreaking. It was also a really interesting discussion into what forgiveness actually is, how different people interpret it and who it really benefits.......more

Goodreads review by Bruce

An excellent read. Review to follow shortly!......more


Quotes

‘There have been few more appropriate and vital moments for this fascinating book to emerge than now as we bear witness to so many acts requiring forgiveness – the complexity of the practice of forgiveness, its meanings, its measure as a force for change are all here – and most of all, its power to prevent the repetition of the worst in our human behaviour and the possibility of finding freedom from hatred

'Cantacuzino's gift for empathy shines... A clear message, she suggests, is not possible without dangerous oversimplification. She tackles her complex one with clear prose and an open heart... This nuance feels like a cool breeze in a heatwave. If there is a message here, it's to listen more, think more and preach less'

Tender, valuable, and often beautiful, Forgiveness shows how we can get tangled up in hate, and how we might cut ourselves free.
 

‘This is an utterly memorable book – beautifully written, fascinating in its insights, and extraordinarily moving. We all need to forgive, and this book, through its recounting of the stories of people who have something really significant to forgive, will be an inspiration to help us reach a state of forgiveness. This is a book that will stay with the reader for a very long time’

‘A wise and generous investigation of one of life’s most difficult but necessary experiences’

‘This important book will speak to anyone who has ever suffered harm, or caused harm to others; which is all of us. The work is unflinching in its honesty and emphasis on forgiveness as a process that cannot be imposed; but it is also immensely hopeful as it invites us to see the possibilities of forgiveness as a human stance that offers hope and freedom from hatred. Anyone with a serious interest in human cruelty and suffering should read this book; it will stretch your mind

‘This reassuring and uplifting book testifies to the truth of forgiveness . . . Both provocative and full of hope

‘A profoundly moving and important book’

‘It is absolutely remarkable how Marina Cantacuzino navigates the vast and complex terrain of forgiveness with such sensitivity, honesty and insight. By skilfully drawing together the threads of personal stories with their infinite nuance and seeming contradictions, she enables and inspires her readers to explore the option of forgiveness within their own lives. I cannot think of a more relevant subject for these challenging times in which humanity’s needs for hope, love and renewal seem stronger than ever

‘This is a book of compelling stories, beautifully told, illustrating the myriad aspects of forgiveness. What it is not is a self-help “how to forgive” manual. Rather it is something more subtle, gentle and ultimately more inspiring. It invites each of us to delve deep and investigate the contours of forgiveness in our own minds. The result is a revelatory read – one that might even be life-changing