Benefits of Book
- A short yet powerful read, just over 100 pages, so you can read it in an afternoon. You will get so much out of this book if you can take your time and perform the suggested writing exercises.
- The Art of Forgiveness is the gut wrenching, yet simultaneously heart-warming and inspirational tale of author CJ’s rebirth. It deals with learning forgiveness in a variety of situations, including a thirty-year resentment and bitterness, childhood trauma, an unrequited love, and alcoholism.
- Hope has its own ability to carry you far and this book is filled with hope. As CJ relays, HOPE is an acronym that
stands for Hold On, Pain Ends. And it does. It also means Hold On, Possibilities Emerge. And they do . Possibilities present themselves as opportunities that, when followed, lead to your fulfillment. - Dr. Fred Luskin, Ph.D., the author of the book’s foreword, made the comment that the reader can feel CJ’s generosity of spirit by the depth that she shares in the book. Fred is the head
psychologist at Stanford and a world-renowned forgiveness expert. He teaches others how to teach forgiveness to others. Even as a fellow teacher, he endorses my method of finding forgiveness. - By using a method CJ created called the YIPPEE Method, you learn about willingness, letting go, gratitude, acceptance, self-accountability, and compassion. Including these practices in
your life creates a firm foundation for and leads to forgiveness. - teachings of the book result in the practices listed in #5, in addition to forgiveness
- the overall tone is encouraging and inviting vs closed and non-welcoming. CJ asks questions
in a compassionate, non-threatening way; she invites you to try various writing exercises, and
other techniques in an attempt to help you through difficult times. These are the things she did
to get beyond resentment; they worked. - People have difficulty shedding guilt, remorse. This book explores that and offers ways to see
the situation with fresh eyes, from a new perspective. - the book presents a path to empowerment, which is living a life of knowing and being your
true, authentic self, staying centered in peace. Utilizing the YIPPEE Method for achieving
peace and freedom; it can be used over and over. - allows reader to reach forgiveness, thus, peace and freedom
Book Will Help You If You Are… - bitter or angry over childhood issues. If you seem unable to shed your anger over things that
happened when you were a child, you can gain insight on how to get beyond your resentment. - convicted of a DUI. The #1 offender of the alcoholic is resentment, according to The Big Book
of Alcoholics Anonymous. Resentment is dealt with in my book. If you got a DUI, you might
like to see what’s behind your need and desire to drink, as well as how to resolve difficulties
leading you to drink. - If you’re drowning emotional pain in excessive substance use, shopping, or cleaning, you may
have difficulty managing your drinking life. Maybe you’re not even aware this is what’s
happening – that you’re drinking over a resentment, pain. From your standpoint, you’re simply
easing the day’s stress, or loosening up before dinner. It was after I quit drinking that I began
to realize how much pain I was trying to numb with my drinking. Maybe you are, too. - considering and/or planning to shoot yourself, another, or others. Anger can be directed
outward to another, or inward to yourself, leading to depression. Instead of acting out or
turning in your anger, you can discover the feelings underneath it. This will set you free. Such
feelings include hurt, disappointment, shame, humiliation, loss or the anticipation of loss, and
grief. Yearn in your life for something beyond the anger that is less painful, more peaceful.
When angry, instead of reacting, explore the feelings underneath it. Deal with those. - angry more than 2 times/week. It’s hard to gauge the occurrence of anger and how much is too
much… Even when I say twice a week you’re angry, I’m referring to small angers, such as
one related to a driving issue, and large angers, such as being passed up for a promotion. You
may experience initial anger over something, but it’s fleeting. That’s not what I’m referring to.
I’m talking about a sustained resentment over the traffic incident, or job. - talking about the past a lot. When you repeat and lament your story over and over and over
again, you are telling your tale of woe. You are most likely being dragged into the quagmire of
a victim, when instead, you could sing the song of a hero about your difficulty. Read the book
to find out how to do this. It will change your life 180 degrees! - frequently guilty over past behaviors and actions. If you carry guilt for things you have done
and said, it may be time for a self-appraisal to assess your kind and loving behaviors, along
with your unkind, unloving, and mean behaviors. By exploring all of this more thoroughly,
and by considering the person you offended from a different perspective, you become able to
shed your guilt. - wanting to forgive but can’t. Perhaps you feel urged by your religion to forgive, or you simply
want to get beyond the resentment. You may continue to feel, however, that forgiving would
condone what was done, that you need to keep this person in your life. The book presents a
different slant on those things, that are, btw, myths… - identifying and blaming others for your problems. A prevalent trait of a problem drinker, and
frankly many people in the world, is the way they blame others for their difficulties, rather
than looking inside and taking responsibility for their behavior, their feelings. We jump to
blame without even considering how we contributed to the situation…This book helps you
learn to do that. - searching for inner peace. With forgiveness comes peace and freedom from resentment.
Relationships are more harmonious; this adds to the peace felt. You can heal from childhood
wounds when you find forgiveness…