Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Forgiveness lesson in a book= Priceless!

I haven't written in some time, as I haven't found a book that moved me enough to want to write a review. That is until this week. The book I am speaking about now is " My Story" Written by and Narrated by Elizabeth Smart. While I am a spiritual person, I am not overly religious and tend to stay away from books with a "religious" or ones steeped heavily in "God". But this story was for me less about "God" and more about a young woman's ability to survive, thrive and FORGIVE. My interest in this Elizabeth's story was a deeply personal one, as I being a victim of a violent sexual based crime found it hard to forgive, yet, once I did forgive wondered why others could not. Reading/ listening to Elizabeth tell her story reinforced in me a realization that forgiveness is not for the perpetrator but for ones self. I will never get the chance to say thank you to Elizabeth Smart, but if I did, this is what I would say to her and about her story. Elizabeth, Thank you for sharing your story of courage, strength and forgiveness with the world, it is a story that shows the power that can be gained from forgiveness. I never wondered why you didn't try to escape your perpetrators, I never asked why you didn't just lay down and die. I only imagined that your ability to forgive allowed you to put that short time in your life behind you and move forward in life with grace, love and peace. I am sure you have times when you think back and marvel at how you were able to go on as an adult to love, live and rejoice. Thank you, Riah Now on to the book. If you are like me and shy away from a book that is steeped in religious references, this is not a book to skip. Yes it does talk about God, but only as a portion of Elizabeths life, not as the whole of her life. Her story shows how one can go through something horrible and come out the other side enact and stronger than ever. Don't miss this book it is definitely worth the read.