Samenvatting

This article describes a study of adult children’s forgiveness
processes following severe childhood parental injury. Consistent
with the phenomenological tradition of qualitative research indepth
interviews were conducted with forty-eight participants in
the Netherlands, Romania, and Israel to capture their lived
experiences of recovery, using forgiveness, from early parental
injury. The findings highlight the commanding importance of
reaching a conscious wiled decision to pursue child–parent
forgiveness, such decision-making fuelled by insights facilitated
by the processes of adult development and reinforced by a proforgiveness
environment. Subsequent to this initial decision,
recognizing the joint humanity of parent and child and
scaffolding an understanding of the parent and his or her injury
within its temporal, cultural and psychological context is of
paramount importance to the eventual attainment of forgiveness.
Forgiveness, although an ongoing journey, brings with it
important fruits. Study findings, including their various nationspecific
nuances, are discussed in light of the existing literature
on forgiveness processes. Implications of study findings for
clinicians working with individuals to facilitate forgiveness of
parentally inflicted wounds are considered.