Forgiveness And Child Abuse: Would You Forgive?

Lois Einhorn Ph.d.
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781931741699
Reviewed by LuAnn Morgan for RebeccasReads (6/08)

When Lois Einhorn was a child, she endured unspeakable abuse. She was beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted by the two people who were entrusted to nurture and care for her – her parents.  In writing this book, Ms. Einhorn asked a variety of people from all walks of life to read her story and contemplate the answer to the question, “Would you forgive?” The answers she received ran through an entire gamut of alternatives. Some said yes, others said no. Yet, it was the ones who refused to answer or who shared their feelings and left the answer up to her (and the reader) that make up the most crucial responses. These are the opinions that seem to bring the readers closer to the heart of the issue as it forces them to think about what they themselves would do in a similar situation.

The book begins with a brief history of what Einhorn (and her sister) went through as children. The heart-rending tale of the horrors these two little girls lived with day in and day out will make the reader take pause and thank God for the parents he or she had.
Could anything be worse than a child forced to crawl around on all fours for an entire day, while being beaten and gorged with wires and electrocuted? Could anything be worse than being tortured and forced to torture your own sister and kill animals?
The answer, unfortunately, is yes. What is truly worse is to live with the after-effects of growing up in those conditions and then, having to suffer the guilt of taking part in the psychotic schemes of two obviously disturbed adults.

That’s what Einhorn had to come to terms with and it’s the reason behind the book.
The responders include journalists, authors, doctors, trauma experts, psychologists, actors, activists, researchers, educators, politicians, religious leaders and more. They also include men who for one reason or another are serving time in prison for their own crimes against society.

The answers will, at times, make the reader angry, especially when they question Einhorn’s feelings. The fact that she survived and went on to make enormous strides in her life is nothing short of miraculous. She has every reason to be commended for her contributions as an adult to the world we all face daily.

Truly, this book ranks at the top of those contributions. It is a book that will provide solace to those who have faced similar violence and to those who haven’t. They are the ones who need to come to an acceptance and understanding about the suffering many children have to endure.  They are also the ones who can step forward and try to put a stop to that same suffering.

I found “Forgiveness and Child Abuse” nothing short of phenomenal. It’s a wonderfully candid and thoughtful book that takes the reader on a voyage of discovery into a world few are privy to.  This book will stay on my shelf until I meet someone who needs it for their own healing. At that point, I will pass it on.