Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Ronald Cotton, The Innocence Project Ronald Cotton - Innocence Project Picking Cotton (The book)   PICKING COTTON      Our Memoir of  Injustice and  Redemption By   Jennifer Thompson-Cannino   & Ronald Cotton      With   Erin Torneo Reviewed By   Geoffrey W. Sutton   I was interested in   Picking Cotton   for several reasons. As a psychologist and researcher I have helped people deal with interpersonal offenses for over 45 years. My focus has been on forgiveness and reconciliation. But there are more lessons in this book. In view of recent events the book serves to illustrate social injustice and racism. In addition, we see the serious problem of faulty eyewitness testimony evident in the experiments of Elizabeth Loftus. So for these reasons, I recommend this book to a broad spectrum of readers. And would especially recommend it to my colleagues in counselling and mental health. The book opens with the horrible account of Jennifer’s rape. She’s a young white c

Left to Tell Discovering God Amidst     the Rwandan Holocaust By Immaculée Ilibagiza Reviewed By   Geoffrey W. Sutton “If they catch me, they will kill me,” (130) thought Immaculée as she struggled physically, psychologically, and spiritually to survive the 1994 Rwandan genocide.  Following a powerful introduction by Wayne W. Dyer, Immaculée Ilibagiza relates a heart-rending drama with the able assistance of award winning journalist, Steve Erwin. Readers will find their emotions pushed to the limits by the high definition images of love, violence, betrayal, death, destruction, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Part one sets the stage by revealing Immaculée’s emerging awareness of the powerful prejudices between the ruling Hutus and minority Tutsis. At school, she became aware of the racial differences during ethnic roll call, in which students identified themselves by name and status as Hutu or Tutsi. As a Tutsi, and a woman, her opportunities for advancement were limited, yet her inte

  The Art of  Forgiving When You Need To Forgive        And Don’t Know How By Lewis B. Smedes Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton   The Art of Forgiving is a modern classic work on forgiveness by Lewis B. Smedes, who has been cited by scientists like Robert Enright and Ev Worthington. Smedes reminds us that we are forgiving people for what they have done and not for who they are. He also opines that forgiving someone does not include reunion or restoration. He locates forgiveness within one person, the forgiver. He’s using the word reunion like contemporary writers use the term, reconciliation.            Forgiving has no strings attached.            Reunion has several strings attached. I appreciate his comments on restoration, which is a subject my colleagues and I have studied (e.g., Sutton & Thomas, 2005; Thomas et al., 2008). Smedes wisely advises us to avoid the confusion of forgiving with restoration. That is, we may deal with our own hurt and let that p

  Forgiveness is a Choice A Step-by-Step Process for    Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope By   Robert D. Enright Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton In Forgiveness is a Choice , psychologist Robert D. Enright provides “a self-help book for people who have been deeply hurt by another and are caught in a vortex of anger, depression, and resentment.” Enright begins by explaining what forgiveness is, what forgiveness is not, and what happens if we do not forgive. His explanations include examples to help understand how people come to terms with offenses and what it means to forgive an offender. For his definition of forgiveness, Enright quotes British philosopher, Joanna North. When unjustly hurt by another, we forgive when we overcome the resentment toward the offender, not by denying our right to resentment, but instead by trying to offer the wrongdoer compassion, benevolence, and love; as we give these, we as forgivers realize that the offender does not necessarily have a right to

  The Sunflower On the Possibilities   and Limits of Forgiveness By   Simon Wiesenthal Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton This book, The Sunflower, offers a challenging story by Holocaust survivor,  Simon Wiesenthal and I recommend it to all interested in the subject of forgiveness and its conceptual neighbour, reconciliation.  In the year 1943, Simon Wiesenthal is in a Nazi concentration camp. He is sent to work in a German  army hospital. He is called to attend to a Nazi soldier who wants forgiveness from a Jew for being part of the murder of  300 Jews by setting fire to a building then shooting those who jumped from windows as they tried to escape. Following his confessional story, the German asks forgiveness. Wiesenthal leaves the room without a word. The next day, he learns the soldier died and left his belongings to him but Wiesenthal refuses to take them. Wiesenthal ruminates then invites people to respond to his dilemma--should he have forgiven the soldier? Following is a quote

  Forgiveness, Reconciliation,  and Restoration:     Multidisciplinary Studies   from a Pentecostal Perspective   Edited by       Martin W. Mittelstadt &     Geoffrey W. Sutton   Reviewed by      Various Reviewers   *************** “Richly diverse, yet held together by a focus on the Pentecostal heritage, this volume offers a refreshing look at a timely topic for a world prone to anger and revenge. Through historical, theological, educational, literary, and social scientific lenses, one easily sees and appreciates the Pentecostal imprint on such valued Christian virtues as forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. Congratulations to each contributor, and especially to editors Mittelstadt and Sutton, for a job well done.”          — Peter Hill, Biola University   ***************   “This volume is rich with godly and pastoral wisdom from an international panel of Pentecostal scholars who explore the Scriptures and offer practical advice on what it

  Forgiveness :    Psychological Theory, Research, and Practice By Everett L. Worthington Jr.    Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   Worthington grabs our attention in the preface: “on January 2, 1996 . . . I encountered the most difficult transgression I ever had to wrestle with (x).” His account of a horrendous personal tragedy, the murder of his mother, adds an important dimension of depth to this scholarly treatise. Worthington states his purpose as describing a theory of forgiveness. Initially, he suggests a metatheory that will incorporate research from biological, psychological, and other perspectives. He narrows the scope of his enterprise to a forgiveness model based on Richard Lazarus’ stress-and-coping theory. I observed that he did not use the word reconciliation in the overview. Although, Worthington does address reconciliation, the primary purpose is the development of a psychological theory of forgiveness. Worthington divides this project into three part