Geoff Thompson was sexually abused at the tender age of 11 by a trusted
and beloved teacher. By the time he was 30 years old he was
unconsciously displacing his rage into violence, sexual self-harm and
long bouts of debilitating depression. After failing to find a solution
to his burgeoning mania in all the conventional places, he set off on a
Campbellian quest to find the answers for himself: about abuse, about
the aftermath of abuse, about the true meaning of forgiveness, its
metaphysical power, and how it is possible to heal, no matter how deep
or how old the wound. The author assures us that "there is treasure in
the ruins", "there can be profit in sorrow and in suffering", and, with
a few tried and tested, honest techniques and a heavy supply of courage,
victims can reclaim their lives, they can win love and they can find
healing and inspiration, post-abuse. In this deeply empirical study,
Thompson reveals the true definition and the awesome power of
forgiveness, clearly defining the difference between forgiving someone
and letting them off. He demonstrates the power and freedom of "giving
it over"; the revealed health benefits of releasing anger, dissonance
and resentment; the hidden power of reciprocity; avoiding the hate trap;
the healing power of love and compassion; the liberating practice of
personal repentance; and discovering "the world to come" - the
exhilarating expansion we experience when ignorance is dissolved with
qualified knowledge. "I told my story very late", Thompson tells us,
"and suffered needlessly as a consequence; I'm hoping that 99 Reasons to
Forgive will encourage others to share their story sooner, be inspired
by my living example of powerful healing, and embrace their walking
wounds as beauty scars, the rich tapestry of personal survival".
