Everyone has a "grievance story" – we’ve all been hurt or rejected by someone who mattered to us. Too often, that damage leads to negative emotions – such as anger – that lingers for years. Unfortunately, while most of us have been told to forgive, we’ve never been told how or why to forgive. Dr. Dick Tibbits, author of Forgive to Live, explains that understanding and practicing forgiveness can literally save your life!

It’s scientific. A grievance story is simply a psychological term that means someone has hurt you in the past and the pain you experienced gets refreshed over and over again in your mind. Continuous rehashing of the grievance story results in many negative health consequences that include: high blood pressure, increased risk of diseases, a lack of mental and emotional peace, feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and a shorter lifespan.

How widespread is the problem? According to Dr. Tibbits, "There probably isn’t a person in the country who hasn’t tried to forgive at one time or another and failed." Most people have tried to forgive the offender and forget the pain. But it’s still there. Unless the grievance story is revealed and redefined, people will face a spiritual crisis, emotional despair and serious health risks. The urgent need for this book is even more apparent when you consider that failing to forgive is a major cause of hypertension. Forgive to Live provides positive, life-changing advice that is applicable to everyone with a grievance story.

Today, it is a clinically proven fact that anger kills. In Forgive to Live Dr. Tibbits presents the scientifically proven steps for forgiveness – taken from the first clinical study of its kind conducted by Stanford University and Florida Hospital. The study demonstrated there is a link between practicing forgiveness and better health. When you refuse to forgive (or don’t know the proper way to forgive) your grievance story produces a complex range of emotions consisting of resentment, bitterness, hatred, hostility, residual anger, and fear – which are experienced after ruminating about a wrong done to you.

In this book – drawn from his groundbreaking research and popular "Forgive to Live" seminars – Dr. Tibbits reveals the clinically proven steps and tools every person needs to uncover their grievance story, eliminate the unresolved anger that they can and can’t see, and forgive for good. He also delivers self-tests and activities to help readers measure their progress and ultimately enjoy a long and anger-free life.