I know this book will touch you and help you because that's what it did for me. It repeatedly surprised me with its wisdom, honesty, tenderness, and insight ... all flowing from a real and relatable story. If you've ever been pushed around, shoved aside, put down, or let down by people you trusted, this book will help you feel your grief without falling into grievance, so you can keep moving forward.

Brian D. McLaren, author of Life After Doom and The Last Voyage

This powerful and unflinching memoir explores forgiveness not as a lofty ideal, but as a hard-won act of survival. After losing his ministry, a broken-hearted priest without status or peace of mind, embarks on a long and arduous journey of self-discovery. What begins as a story of grief, anger, and spiritual crisis becomes a powerful redemptive narrative of hope, healing and finding meaning. For anyone stranded in the wilderness of loss, Forgiveness at Ground Zero offers a creative map beyond blame and isolation. Grounded in the understanding that forgiveness is making peace with what we cannot change, this book illuminates the profound, transformative power of forgiveness and conveys a vital message for us all.

Marina Cantacuzino, founder of The Forgiveness Project and author of Forgiveness: An Exploration

This book tells a monumental and deeply human story of trauma, reckoning, and transformation. With honesty and emotional precision, Lyndon Harris guides readers through every stage of an extraordinary journey-from the raw pull of revenge fantasies to the difficult, illuminating work of confronting them. His reflections on revenge, radical hospitality, and moral struggle are riveting and unsparing, revealing not only what he endured, but who he became in the process. Each chapter builds with clarity and courage, offering an intimate portrait of a person willing to look unflinchingly at his own darkness in order to find something truer on the other side.

What emerges is a powerful meditation on forgiveness-not as denial, weakness, or betrayal, but as a radical, life-altering act that refuses to let violence define the future. There is a sense of destiny woven throughout the narrative, as Harris comes to see how meaning, growth, and transformation were present from the very beginning, even in the worst moments. Challenging common assumptions about what is “unforgivable,” this book invites readers to reconsider what forgiveness truly is, what it demands, and what it can make possible. It is a courageous, inspiring memoir that has the power to change how we understand suffering, grace, and the possibility of becoming someone new.

Olivier Clerc, founder of the Circles of Forgiveness and Honorary President of the Association Pardon International

I have been involved in the science and teaching of forgiveness for over 25 years. In that time, I have met what seems like hundreds of people doing forgiveness work. What is truly incredible about Lyndon Harris' story is that his past pain and suffering is the present driving source of continued daily forgiveness, growth, and transformation. He tells his story with compassion, caring, and softness that will register with readers on many levels and shed light on a topic that is so often misconstrued and misunderstood. Follow the path of Lyndon Harris' story and you will find the substance of how you can move from broken to better. If only we could all find the healing of forgiveness the way Lyndon Harris has. My hope is that readers will follow his lead.

Loren Toussaint, Professor of Psychology, Luther College Vice Chair, Forgiveness Scientific Advisory Council, Templeton World Charity Foundation

Forgiveness at Ground Zero is a fabulous book for any reader who has an interest in the science of forgiveness, and who is equally engaged with forgiveness as a part of our existential journeys. I first met Rev. Lyndon F. Harris on the very grounds of St. Paul's Chapel, which miraculously survived the destruction of 9-11 as the World Trade Center Towers collapsed quite literally at the Chapel's back door. It was a few days after the towers fell. He was busy pastoring the many firefighters, police, and other rescuers whose meals were prepared by volunteers from all over the US and who slept exhausted in the pews. I remember his tremendous passion for this unexpected ministry. I honor him to this day for the work of pure love that he performed in prayer and resilience.

Stephen G. Post, PhD, author and President of The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love; Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

Essential reading for those of us (most of us) who harbor memories of slights and hurts, betrayals and more that can fester for a lifetime, if we don't find ways to transform what lurks as the shadows in our lives into what Lyndon Harris describes as “the sunlight of positive energy.” Informative, inspiring and highly readable, this unique memoir offers a roadmap to recovery, as we “walk our path, free of darkness, illuminated by the light of truth.

Kathy Eldon, author, filmmaker, and founder of the Creative Visions Foundation