About the Book

In Why Forgive? Arnold lets the untidy experiences of ordinary people speak for themselves – people who have earned the right to talk about forgiving. Some of these stories deal with violent crime, betrayal, abuse, hate, gang warfare, and genocide. Others address everyday hurts: the wounds caused by backbiting, gossip, conflicts in the home, and tensions in the workplace. The book also tackles what can be the biggest challenge: forgiving ourselves. These people, who have overcome the cancer of bitterness and hatred, can help you unleash the healing power of forgiveness in your own life.

Why Forgive? Read these stories and decide for yourself.

Book Trailer

Praise

A most impressive book…so powerful that tears often impede reading.

ALA Booklist (Starred Review)

Thought-provoking and soul-challenging…Arnold writes with an eye-opening simplicity that zings the heart.

Houston Chronicle

A much-needed message not only for South Africa, but for the whole world.

Nelson Mandela

Why Forgive? took each of us on a quest that would introduce us to hope, and expose us to our own hurts, wounds, and short-comings. And yet, in the midst of this, it pointed to the possibility that each of us had yet to explore: self-forgiveness.

Prison Fellowship Australia

Tablet of Contents

  • The Cancer of Bitterness
    Jane, Brenda, Glenn Fielder, Charles Williams, Anne and Daniel Coleman
  • Believe in Miracles
    Gordon Wilson, Piri Thomas, Hashim Garrett, Ghaidaa
  • Ending the Cycle of Hatred
    Jared, Hela Ehrlich, Josef Ben-Eliezer, Bishara Awad, Naim Ateek
  • Bless your Persecutors
    Death row inmate, Gladys Staines, Martin Luther King, Ruby Bridges, Christian de Cherge
  • Forgiveness and Justice
    David, Roberto Rodriguez, Bill Chadwick, Kip Kinkel, Mary Foley
  • The Deeds of Mercy
    Chris Carrier and David McAllister, Ron Carlson and Karla Faye Tucker
  • When Reconciling is Impossible
    Marietta Jaeger, Kelly, Julie, Anne Coleman, Brad and Misty Bernall, Dan and Tricia Nelson
  • Forgiving in Everyday Life
    William Blake’s “poison tree,” Johann Christoph Arnold, Clare Stober, Heinrich and Annemarie Arnold
  • Forgiveness and Marriage
    Johann Christoph and Verena Arnold, Hans and Margrit Meier, Ed and Carol
  • Forgiving a Parent
    Don, Karl Keiderling, Maria, Kate, Susan
  • Blaming God 
    Johann Christoph Arnold, Andrea, Jon and Gretchen Rhoads
  • Forgiving Ourselves
    Delf Fransham, David Harvey, John Plummer and Kim Phuc, Pat
  • Accepting Responsibility
    Mark and Debbie, Steve, Michael Ross, the Möttlingen Awakening
  • Not a Step but a Journey
    Steven McDonald, Alice Calonga and Saira Sher, Terry, Bud Welch
  • Making Ripples
    Jean-Paul Samputu, Rwanda’s Reconciliation Village, the Amish School Massacre, Michael Lapsley