Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, offer a manual on the art of forgiveness—helping us to realize that we are all capable of healing and transformation. Addressing four important steps to healing: admitting the wrong and acknowledging the harm; telling one’s story and witnessing the anguish; asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness; and renewing or releasing the relationship.

Forgiveness is hard work. Sometimes it even feels like an impossible task. But it is only through walking this fourfold path that we can free ourselves of the endless and unyielding cycle of pain and retribution. The Book of Forgiving is both a touchstone and a tool. Ultimately, forgiving is the only means we have to heal ourselves and our aching world.