The author, a Buddhist chaplain, works with battered women, caregivers, inmates, people with addictions, cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and psychiatric patients, as well as so-called normal people. In her work she has found that the most difficult thig for people to do is to grant, or ask for, forgiveness. Exploring the difficult emotions that keep us from forgiving, in this book she helps readers reflect on what forgiveness really means and how it can heal our lives and relationships.