Survivor: A Memoir of Forgiveness

In this book, Cynthia Toolin-Wilson tells the story of how her mother’s attempt to chemically abort her impacted her life. She recounts her relationship with her parents until their deaths, and the beginning of her forgiveness of them, and of herself, when she converted to Catholicism. She reflects on how forgiveness freed her from the bondage of resentment, anger, and hatred, while not minimizing memories. It allowed her to see the people who hurt her as damaged, and enabled her to be empathetic towards them rather than seek revenge.