You can find peace, whether or not you forgive those who harmed you.
Feeling pressured to forgive their offenders is a common reason trauma survivors avoid mental health services
and support. Those who force, pressure, or encourage trauma survivors to forgive can unknowingly cause
harm and sabotage their recovery. And such harm is entirely unnecessary--especially when research shows
there is no consensus among psychologists, psychiatrists, and other professionals about whether forgiveness
is necessary for recovery at all.
You Don't Need to Forgive is an invaluable resource for trauma survivors and their clinicians who feel alienated
and even gaslighted by the toxic positivity and moralism that often characterizes attitudes about forgiveness
in psychology and self-help. Bringing together research and testimony from psychologists, psychotherapists,
criminologists, philosophers, religious leaders, and trauma survivors, psychotherapist and expert in complex
trauma recovery Amanda Ann Gregory explores the benefits of elective forgiveness and the dangers of required
forgiveness. Elective forgiveness gives survivors the agency to progress in their recovery on their own terms.
Forgiveness is helpful for some, but it is not universally necessary for recovery; each person should have the
power to choose.
