Ko-i Bastis is a Buddhist chaplain and in her book she helps readers reflect on what forgiveness really means and how it can heal their lives and relationships. She explores the difficult emotions that keep people from forgiving and offers tools to help us overcome them.

2016 Books For A Better Life Award winner Drawing on the latest research and remarkable tales of forgiveness from around the world, journalist Megan Feldman explores how forgiveness, when practiced in the right ways, can save lives, make us happier and healthier, and lead to a better world. Veteran journalist Megan Feldman was still smarting over a bitter breakup when she began working on a feature article about a father named Azim who had truly forgiven the man who killed his son. She had found herself totally and completely unable to forgive her ex-boyfriend, and yet Azim had managed to forgive his own son’s murderer. Forgiveness has long been touted by religious leaders as a moral imperative. But Megan wanted to know exactly what it means from a scientific perspective, and why forgiving those who have wronged you is one of the best things you can do for yourself. In Triumph of the Heart, Feldman embarks on a quest to understand this complex idea, drawing on the latest research showing that forgiveness can provide a range of health benefits, from relieving depression to decreasing high blood pressure. The journey takes her from New Zealand and the Maori who practice their own form of restorative justice, to a principal in Baltimore who uses forgiveness techniques to eradicate violence in her school, and to recovered addicts who restarted their lives by seeking and receiving forgiveness. She travels to Rwanda to learn about forgiveness in the face of unthinkable atrocities. This book is a guide for how the practice of forgiveness can help us all in our search for a satisfying, fulfilling, good life.

To err is human. But because we are social beings, our mistakes often harm others in small and not-so-small ways. We have all given or received wounds that need the healing power of forgiveness. This is easier said than done, however. Many would like to forgive, but just can’t seem to do it. And they continue to suffer the bitterness and the lack of peace that comes from unforgiven injuries. In Wounds in the Heart, Dr. Javier Schlatter leads us out of this conundrum and into a deeper understanding of forgiveness and its importance in our lives. He explains what forgiveness is, what it is not, and how to experience its healing power in our lives. He also looks at the impact of forgiveness on health and the keys to forgiveness in marriage. His insights are practical but also provide a deeper understanding of forgiveness that goes well beyond a superficial self-help book. Dr. Schlatter is Assistant Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the University of Navarre Medical Clinic. He is the author of several books on anxiety and stress and is a specialist in emotional disorders and the biological basis of depression and phobias.

Caring for the garden of your soul requires vigilance. Weeds of unforgiveness can quickly spring up and choke out the beautiful qualities God wants to grow in you. Whether the injuries done to you by others are small or great, your spiritual and emotional well-being depends on cultivating a forgiving heart. But how? Is forgiveness a feeling or a choice? Does it mean excusing the injury? Does it free the offender from the consequences of his or her actions? Debunking the myths that hinder forgiveness, Denise George takes you through challenging but critically important lessons on forgiving others. This six-week devotional Bible study experience includes twenty-minute weekday sessions; sixty-minute weekend sessions for deeper personal, mentor, or group study; and a five-minute weekend Scripture prayer, all to enrich your dialogue with God and interaction with Scripture. Designed to stimulate your personal growth and explore the hard questions of life one-on-one with God, Cultivating a Forgiving Heart will help you uproot bitterness so that joy and peace can flourish in your heart.

Drawing on the philosophy of A Course in Miracles, Casarjian gives a new and surprising definition of forgiveness and provides original exercises and meditations that acknowledge our hurt even as they lead us beyond it. The book explores special cases involving family members, crime victims, self-forgiveness, and forgiveness of God.

Friendships with other women are as important to our mental, physical, and spiritual health as rest, exercise, and prayer. We don’t just want friends—we need friends. God created us for relationship. Yet despite being more connected than ever before, we struggle to feel connected. From the false intimacy of social media to busyness and relational conflict, there are many challenges to developing authentic relationships. If you’ve ever been hurt by a friend, struggled to balance friendship with everyday life, seen a friendship end too early, or longed for deeper and more authentic friendships, this Bible study is for you. As Natalie leads you in a deep exploration of timeless truths in the Old and New Testaments, you will learn how to develop and nurture the kind of enriching and satisfying friendships that build up the body of Christ and bring honor to God. Personal testimonies and stories of successes and failures add a level of authenticity that is refreshing and insightful. As you learn to cultivate God-honoring relationships, you will become more like Christ and demonstrate His love to a broken world. Study participants will find deep study of Scripture's principles for God-honoring friendships; help for navigating conflict, setting boundaries, and learning to forgive; in-depth study of Scripture with testimonies and stories that "ring true," the do's and don'ts of authentic friendships; and Bible-based guidance for building stronger and deeper relationships. The Leader Guide contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more—plus leader helps for facilitating a group. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six 16-20 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit. “Becoming Heart Sisters is a beautiful reminder of how powerful walking hand in hand with a loyal friend can be. After completing this study, you will be better equipped to be this kind of God-honoring friend. Thank you, Natalie, for the charge to sacrificially love and serve our friends.” —Lysa Terkeurst, New York Times best-selling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

“This book serves as your personal heart healing coach to . . . free your heart and mind of the wounds of the past.” —Jamie Lynn Sigler, actress on The Sopranos Whatever the cause of your heartbreak—the end of a relationship, the death of a loved one, a divorce, shattered dreams, a family feud, a life-threatening diagnosis, career turmoil, or past abuse that repeats over and over again—it is never too early or too late to courageously forgive and let go. Filled with stories, proven exercises, and powerful affirmations to free you from any resentment and anger you are holding towards yourself or others, this book offers potent opportunities for lasting, life-changing heart-healing. The “emotional clutter” of old resentments, grudges, guilt, and shame are blocks to love and a direct call for action. Readers will learn: The distinction between a closed and broken heartTo identify the specific beliefs that continue to activate your emotional wounds and unresolved angerHow to forgive yourself and others using the Deal-Heal-Forgive ProcessHow healing your heart contributes to healing the broken-heartedness in the world today. With wisdom gained from her own heartbreak story and decades of study with Joseph Campbell, Jean Houston, Robert Fritz, don Miguel Ruiz and thousands of clients and students, Susyn Reeve has written a refreshingly honest and practical guide to living a life of contentment, connection, and long-overdue love. “Heartbreak is a painful fact of life. Be prepared to free your heart, because you were born worthy.” —Nell Merlino, creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day