Best 12 Forgiveness Books

1. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget

By Lysa TerKeurst

With deep empathy, therapeutic insight, and rich Bible teaching coming out of more than 1,000 hours of theological study, Lysa will help you:

• Learn how to move on when the other person refuses to change and never says they’re sorry.
• Walk through a step-by-step process to free yourself from the hurt of your past and feel less offended today.
• Discover what the Bible really says about forgiveness and the peace that comes from living it out right now.
• Identify what’s stealing trust and vulnerability from your relationships so you can believe there is still good ahead.
• Disempower the triggers hijacking your emotions by embracing the two necessary parts of forgiveness.

2. The Gift of Forgiveness

By Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt

Here, Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt shows us what we can learn from those who have struggled with forgiveness, some still struggling, and others who have been able to forgive what might seem truly unforgivable. 

The Gift of Forgiveness is a perfect blend of personal insights, powerful quotations, and hard-won wisdom for those seeking a way to live with greater acceptance, grace, and peace.

3. Radical Forgiveness

By Colin Tipping

Topics covered include:
• How to transform difficult emotions like anger, fear, and shame into unconditional love, gratitude, and peace
• The five essential stages of Radical Forgiveness, and how they help us transcend the victim archetype and embrace the inherent perfection of life
• The Radical Forgiveness Worksheet―an effective and easy-to-use tool for tapping into your “spiritual intelligence” to resolve grievances
“Radical Forgiveness is much more than the mere letting go of the past,” writes Colin. “It is the key to creating the life that we want and the world that we want.” With Radical Forgiveness, he puts that key in our hands.

4. Forgiveness: 21 Days to Forgive Everyone for Everything

By Iyanla Vanzant

With Iyanla’s 21-Day Forgiveness Plan, you’ll explore relationship dynamics with your parents, children, friends, partners, co-workers, bosses, yourself, and even God. With journaling work and Emotional Freedom Techniques (also known as “tapping”), you’ll learn to live with more love; gain new clarity on your life, lessons, and blessings; and discover a new level of personal freedom, peace, and well-being. Forgiveness doesn’t mean agreeing with, condoning, or even liking what has happened.

5. The 5 Apology Languages

By Gary Chapman, Jennifer Thomas

In The 5 Apology Languages, Gary Chapman, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the 5 Love Languages®, partners with Jennifer Thomas to help you on the journey toward restored relationships. True healing comes when you learn to:

• Express regret: “I’m sorry.”
• Accept responsibility: “I was wrong.”
• Make restitution: “How can I make it right?”
• Plan for change: “I’ll take steps to prevent a reoccurrence.”
• Request forgiveness: “Can you find it in your heart to . . . ?”

6. Radical Self-Forgiveness

By Colin Tipping

Based on his world-renowned forgiveness workshops, the Radical Self-Forgiveness shares clear insights for resolving our deepest internal wounds using Tipping’s five-stage forgiveness process.

7. The Forgiveness Workbook

By Ilene S. Cohen PhD

Go deeper than other personal growth books with:

• Six steps to moving on—Find a road map of what to expect along the journey, with chapters that clearly break down the six stages of forgiveness.
• Focus on self-empowerment—Learn how a willingness to forgive helps build resilience, healthier relationships, and a stronger sense of self.
• The science of forgiveness—Understand what happens in the brain and body when you hold in negative feelings—and the benefits of leaving them behind.

8. The Forgiveness Journal

By Lysa TerKeurst

In this unique companion resource to her #1 New York Times Bestseller Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, Lysa shares:

• Honest reflections where she wrestles with forgiving those who hurt her the most
• Powerful readings about forgiveness and healing
• Encouraging quotes from Forgiving What You Can’t Forget
• Key Bible verses related to the topic of each chapter
• Journaling prompts for personal processing, along with space to write
• Short prayers to get you started in giving your hurt over to God

9. Forgiveness Is a Choice

By Dr. Robert D. Enright PhD

This groundbreaking work demonstrates how forgiveness, approached in the correct manner, benefits the forgiver far more than the forgiven. Filled with wisdom and warm encouragement, the book leads the reader on a path that will bring clarity and peace.

10. Forgive for Good

By Frederic Luskin

Based on scientific research, this groundbreaking study from the frontiers of psychology and medicine offers startling new insight into the healing powers and medical benefits of forgiveness. Through vivid examples (including his work with victims from both sides of Northern Ireland’s civil war), Dr. Fred Luskin offers a proven nine-step forgiveness method that makes it possible to move beyond being a victim to a life of improved health and contentment.

11. Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?

By Timothy Keller

Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller outlines the reasons why forgiveness has to be a central part of everyone’s lives.

Forgiving anyone in a meaningful way is one of the hardest things a person has to do. If you do not, resentment and vengeance begin to consume you. It is nearly impossible to move past transgression without forgiveness, but few people have the resources and the tools to forgive others fully and move on with their lives. Forgiveness is an essential skill, a moral imperative, and a religious belief that cuts right to the core of what it means to be human.  In Forgive, Timothy Keller shows readers why it is so important and how to do it, explaining in detail the steps you need to take in order to move on without sacrificing justice or your humanity.  

12. Forgiveness: Finding Peace Through Letting Go

By Adam Hamilton

In the passionate and life-changing book Forgiveness: Finding Peace Though Letting Go, bestselling author Adam Hamilton brings the same insight that he applied in the bestseller “Why?” to the challenge of forgiveness. Hamilton argues that revelation comes when we realize that forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves rather than to someone else. He also contends that only when we learn to forgive others and ourselves can we truly receive forgiveness from God.