Archive for August, 2026
Dr. Enright’s Essays on Forgiveness are ‘Essential Reads’!
Dr. Robert Enright
In the past several months, Dr. Enright’s essays on the Psychology Today website have been promoted to Essential Read status in the topic area of forgiveness. Those essays are as follows:
What Forgiveness Is Not and Why, August 20, 2026
Crossing the Finish Line When It Is Hard to Forgive, July 22, 2026
Fully Forgive and Put Beauty in Relationships and the World, June 9, 2026
How to Stop Blaming Yourself When Your Partner Is Abusive, May 5, 2026
I kind of like the idea of forgiveness, but I am a bit ambivalent about it. Can you provide some written material for me so that I can make a more informed decision?
Here is a link to an essay I posted on the Psychology Today website regarding this issue of deciding if you are ready to forgive:
I heard that you did a study of forgiveness for people in hospice, but I cannot locate the reference. Would you please provide that for me? Thank you in advance.
Yes, here is that reference:
Hansen, M.J., Enright. R.D., Baskin, T.W., & Klatt, J. (2009). A palliative care intervention in forgiveness therapy for elderly terminally-ill cancer patients. Journal of Palliative Care, 25, 51-60.
If I no longer feel rage at the one who hurt me, does this mean I have forgiven?
Forgiveness concerns the willingness to give mercy to the one who was unfair. Your emotions play a part, but they are not the entire essence of forgiveness. In other words, some people reduce their anger by saying, “Well, this person is not worth the effort.” Dismissing another person might lessen anger, at least temporarily, but I have found it rarely solves deep, abiding anger. Forgiveness likely would be more effective for you in the long run.
A Podcast and Book on Revenge and Forgiveness
Image by Brett Jordan, Pexels.com
On a recent episode of the podcast No Small Endeavor, Yale University professor Dr. James Kimmel, Jr. talked about his book, The Science of Revenge. The full video is available on YouTube here:
