Forgiving Yourself: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Peace with Your Mistakes and Getting on with Your Life

The author of the acclaimed Forgiving the Unforgivable: Overcoming the Bitter Legacy of Intimate Wounds here turns her attention to the often more difficult task of learning to forgive the most important person in your life - yourself. Beverly Flanigan, a clinical social worker and a pioneer in the field of forgiveness, distinguishes various types of actions that call for forgiveness and offers a step-by-step program for eliminating self-defeating behavior so that we may learn to forgive our mistakes, heal our relationships, and get on with our lives. People who engage in the process of self-forgiveness are people of conscience. They are aware that their actions, thoughts, or deeds have hurt others. They want to heal themselves, their lives, and their relationships. Such willingness to change requires courage and commitment. But the rewards are profound: self-forgiveness mends relationships thought to be irreparably damaged; it can restore peace of mind; and it provides an opportunity to live a more productive, fulfilling life.