Book review for The Other F Word: 7 Days to Forgiving Anyone

Benefits of thinking like a cat sounded goofy at first but it makes sense to not judge or hold a grudge, instead let go of the poison. We have polluted our lives with bitterness, anger, revenge, fear, that it’s no wonder our dreams don’t materialize in the midst of our emotional toxic waste dump.

While this book is religious in nature, there are a plethora of good suggestions about forgiving yourself as well as others.

Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else, it’s something you do for yourself.

Jim Beaver

The chapter on culture, family patterns, and formative archetypes was a good review since I’d read examples such as these about Middle Eastern and Asian countries thoughts about family, like preferring boys over girls, and paternal authority.

So, what is your story? What exactly does that mean? Well, it can suggest a curiosity as to what pain you had in your past that you still carry with you that determines your personality. The author believes it’s a way of saying that we are the victims, and we need to get out from under that hold, that addiction to pain and suffering.

And what if you have challenging relatives such as a malicious mother-in-law? Don’t go through life feeling alienated instead forgiveness is the author’s suggestion. Sit with that fleeting feeling and breathe in the lighthearted nature that now encompasses you.

The author’s seven day forgiveness process is similar to that twelve steps of recovery and includes such things as the angry letter, forgiveness, and the completion letter.

Some of the book’s more interesting Q&A on the forgiveness process:

Won’t the other person see me as weak, a doormat?Is forgiving myself, selfish?What is the difference between forgiveness and justice?

The author then goes into how lack of forgiveness can result in physical problems such as worry and an ulcer, and high blood pressure from anger, rage, or fear. Hives or insomnia can be brought on by intense or ongoing fear. Adding to that anorexia can be brought on by rejections and heart attack from lack of joy. I appreciated that she mentioned Louise M. Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life. In Hay’s book she writes that there are only two main mental patterns that contribute to our creation of disease which are anger and fear. Hay’s well thought out book lists almost fifty illnesses with their probable mental cause and the suggested new thought patterns.

Ericson continues on with how prosperity can be released through forgiveness. She states that it’s subconscious and that we inherit family patterns from our parents that we may need to release as well. Also list out other negative beliefs you have about money or the wealthy. Are these thoughts bogging you down? Fear is the separator in the role of gratitude which is a state of being. Allow grace to fill your awareness and let go of negative beliefs about money. The world is a reflection of our thoughts, and what usually results is a fearful self-image

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

Anger management and the creation of your own garden of forgiveness goes into creating a sanctuary like the author has on her patio where she has her morning cup of tea. I appreciated the list of flowers and their meanings as well as the book suggestions on creating a garden of gratitude. All in all the book has a tremendous amount of sacred quotes that you may or may not find helpful. I found it interesting and calming. To read it in its entirety get it here.

Until my next post, why not check out my YA novels about mental illness, memoir writing, or even my Native American mystery series on Amazon, or follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Bookbub , BookSprout, or AllAuthor.