To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory.

When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it.

Forgiving is tough. Excusing is easy. What a mistake it is to confuse forgiving with being mushy, soft, gutless, and oh, so understanding. Before we forgive, we stiffen our spine and we hold a person accountable. And only then, in tough-minded judgment, can we do the outrageously impossible thing: we can forgive.

Don't do it quickly, but don't wait too long... If we wait too long to forgive, our rage settles in and claims squatter's rights to our souls.

Kindness is the power that moves us to support and heal someone who offers nothing in return.

My wife has lived with at least five different men since we were wed - and each of the five has been me.