The Importance of Forgiveness

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Feeling listened to and understood is often more restorative for children than hearing the words "I'm sorry."

The most meaningful apology prioritizes the child's experience over the father's guilt and shame.

Fathers who resist the urge to defend themselves to their children create room for healing to take place.

In a previous post, I shared a letter that Rufus imagined his estranged son, Owen, writing to him. After we spent some time discussing what he had come up with, I asked Rufus to respond to this imaginary letter of Owen’s with a letter of his own.

I made it clear to Rufus that he might or might not choose to eventually send this letter to Owen, but that either way, writing it would move him closer to being the kind of father he wished he had been, and closer to being the kind of father that Owen wished he had had.

One thing that I did........

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