In some cases, there may be no action towards another that will ease the pain of guilt or self-blame. Instead, looking inward to oneself may be the only remedy to heal. The film The Shack, directed by Stuart Hazeldine, offers a father, Mack Phillips, performed by Sam Worthington, as an illustration that hurts, even atrocities, that cause one to wrestle with complicated negative emotions can be relieved by an act of introspection: forgiveness.

The Shack introduces Mack as a loving, engaging father. While on vacation with his three children, he sees his eldest children’s boat capsize and does all he can to save his drowning son. Successfully saving his son’s life, he is relieved. At the same time, during this event, he learns that his youngest child has been abducted and later discovers that she has been murdered.

Mack responds to his daughter’s death by experiencing debilitating grief and guilt that makes it difficult for him, even after time has passed, to engage with his family and interact with his wife in a positive way. When invited by an unknown person to revisit the site where he saw........

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