Forgiveness After Trauma: A Path to Find Healing and Empowerment Paperback - 2024

From the rear cover

A Trauma-Informed Path toward Forgiveness

The church's teachings on forgiveness often fail victims and survivors of abuse.

As a Christian minister, biblical scholar, and survivor of abuse, Susannah Griffith has spent a lot of time thinking about forgiveness. In Forgiveness after Trauma, she explores what the Bible says--and doesn't say--about the biblical call to forgive.

Griffith advocates for "trauma-informed forgiveness," which takes seriously God's forgiveness of sinners while centering survivors of abuse and aiding their healing. This view also empowers those who have been harmed by abuses of power and justice in religious institutions.

"Provides desperately needed insight and clarity on one of the most significant issues survivors face as they take steps toward safety and recovery. This book will empower many who find themselves stuck and unsure how to move forward on their healing journey."
--Wade Mullen, author of Something's Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse--and Freeing Yourself from Its Power

"Griffith weaves together Scripture, memoir, and practical theology in a trauma-informed ethic of forgiveness. Required reading for clergy, lay leaders, and anyone willing to accompany survivors navigating intimate partner violence."
--Teresa Kim Pecinovsky, author of Mother God

"Through her own story of trauma and recovery, Griffith gently urges readers to discover the many facets of forgiveness, paving a way forward after harm. Her story is one I'll return to again and again."
--Tiffany Bluhm, speaker and author of Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up

"Griffith speaks from a mixture of personal narrative, biblical scholarship, and pastoral experience to deliver a trauma-informed understanding of forgiveness."
--J.W. Buck, author of Everyday Activism: Following 7 Practices of Jesus to Create a Just World