Review: Forgiveness after Trauma

Forgiveness after Trauma: A Path to Find Healing and Empowerment

By Suzannah Griffith (BrazosPress)

In her upcoming book Forgiveness after Trauma, Suzannah Griffith handles this painful topic with honesty and grace. She recounts the abuse she experienced in her marriage with enough detail for the reader to understand her story without becoming immersed in it.

Her domestic violence story is not the point of the book. Rather, it provides a reference to challenge the way forgiveness often is taught and applied within the church.

Using sound Bible scholarship, Griffith builds a more trauma-informed interpretation of forgiveness than she found in the Mennonite church where she served as a pastor during the worst of her abuse. She shows a clear love for Scripture as she effectively weaves passages on anger, lament and accountability into her own journey toward forgiveness and empowerment.

Griffith’s study of forgiveness began at the suggestion of two friends who stood by her and her husband during the abuse. When Christians regularly handle care for abuse victims poorly, this positive example of support is encouraging and a key takeaway from the book.

While I would stop short of calling this book a must read, Griffith does provide a survivor’s view on a timely topic. It is a useful read for pastors and laypeople alike. We are all tasked to minister to the hurting. Forgiveness after Trauma will help us do just that.

Calli Keener, news writer
Baptist Standard