Review: Forgiving Our Fathers and Mothers: Finding Freedom from Hurt and Hate by Dr. Leslie Leyland Fields

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 753 KB
• Print Length: 212 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0849964725
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (Jan. 21 2014)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00DNBE996

Book Description

“If our families are to flourish, we will need to learn and practice ways of forgiving those who have had the greatest impact upon us: our mothers and fathers.”

Many of us struggle with the deep pain of a broken relationship with a parent. In a unique style that seamlessly moves between analysis, biblical interpretation, and memoir, Forgiving Our Fathers and Mothers offers portraits of authentic forgiveness that model ways to repair those relationships.

The authors share their own experiences with forgiveness, providing comfort and hope to those wrestling with questions like these:

What does the Bible say about forgiveness? Why must we forgive at all?How do we honor those who act dishonorably toward us, especially when they are as influential as our parents? Can we ever break free from the “sins of our fathers”?What does forgiveness look like in real life? Do I have to let an estranged parent back into my life? How do I forgive a parent who has passed away?
Fields connects true stories with scriptural support for encouragement, while Hubbard’s chapter-ending commentaries add a clinical perspective. Their hope is that we gain a greater understanding of ourselves, our parents, and our God, arriving at “a place of freedom that we cannot even imagine now, a freedom that promises to begin to heal the brokenness of the world itself.”

About the Author

Leslie Leyland Fieldsis an award-winning author of eight books, a contributing editor for Christianity Today,a national speaker, a popular radio guest, and a sometimes commercial fisherwoman, working with her husband and 6 children in commercial fishing on Kodiak Island, Alaska where she has lived for 36 years.


Dr. Jill Hubbard is a clinical psychologist and regular co-host on Christian radio's nationally-syndicated New Life Live program. Dr. Jill has gained a reputation for her gentle and insightful style of connecting with radio callers. She is also in private practice where she sees clients who struggle with depression, addictions, eating disorders, and relational and personal growth issues. Dr. Jill lives with her family in southern California.


My Review

 I choose to read this book, "Forgiving Our Fathers and Mothers: Finding Freedom from Hurt and Hate", because like my other adults I have continuing issues with my feelings toward one of my parents. My father has been gone for fifteen years but the hurts remain. They were never resolved. And in his death, he found ways to hurt us even more. So forgive...how do you forgive.

Of course, I know as a Christian how important it is to forgive. But it is advantageous to have it all laid out for you....laid bare by someone else who has been there. This book uses the author's own stories to tell the struggle of parental forgiveness. And more importantly, it points the reader in the right direction to scripture to find the answers of how to forgive.

If you are struggling with forgiving one or more of your parents, this book will provide tremendous assistance to you.