Book
Review: The Unburdened Heart: 5 Keys to Forgiveness & Freedom
Reviewed
by Roman Paur
ISBN
0-06-251599-3 Mariah Burton Nelson,
The Unburdened Heart: 5 Keys to Forgiveness & Freedom. New York, Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 213 pp ($22.00).
The courage to forgive is about
growing, emerging freer and happier and more loving than before.
The author is interested in two questions: why forgive and how.
The consequences of sexual abuse may vary considerably in the short term
and in the long. But sexual abuse in any context is wrong because it violates
human beings. The individual who
does it is in trouble with himself or herself, and the person who is compromised
is left with a huge challenge that in time, hopefully, can work its way out with
survivor determination, support, understanding, and patience.
Honesty and justice are helpful allies on the arduous path of recovery
and peace. However, shame and
intimidation are more familiar obstacles on the cautious way to disclosure and
healing.
Mariah Burton Nelson adds the prestige
of her national prominence in the world of college and professional basketball
to the cause of taking charge of oneself and doing what needs to be done for
getting on with living after being sexually abused as a youngster by her coach.
With a victim’s sensitivity she identifies the heart burdened by being
violated, and persuasively, through her story, draws the reader into the freedom
of forgiveness.
Although the theme of this book is
highlighted well in the feature article of this newsletter, a big advantage in
reading the book in its entirety is learning from the author's compassionate and
masterful understanding of the complexity of forgiveness throughout, and as
detailed in Part III, "Complications, Closure, and Beyond."
This book builds on the values of the author's two previous books.
It is a very readable narration with
a conversational tone that is about failure and success and is motivated by love
and fulfilment. And it is carefully referenced with chapter notes.