How to Have That Difficult Conversation: Gaining the Skills for Honest and Meaningful Communication

by Henry Cloud

want to talk about the way our relationship is going to be for a while. First, I want you to know I accept your apology and forgive you for the deception and the stuff that happened. I want us to be close again, and the past is past. So, I don’t want you to think that I am holding on to anything. I want this to work out. “But we have been here before, where things happened, you apologized, we got right back together, and nothing really changed. So this time, I want us to figure out a way to work toward getting back together when I feel as though you are doing something different I can trust. “I only want to talk about it with a counselor present, and then I want to decide how much time we should spend together until I know it is safe for you to move back in. And I will consider your moving back in only if you are getting some help and sticking with a program. I forgive you, but I have to learn to trust you again, and that has to be based on your actions.”