Adam Coleman explains the importance of forgiveness in the context of child abuse and abandonment

"I forgave my father, so I let go of my anger, my depression, my feelings of rejection. I let all that stuff go, so I don't have anything dragging me back, and I can move forward in my life.

And so, if you were abused in some particular way, is it beneficial to hold on to anger - that feeling when you were a child that was abused? Is it beneficial to hold on to that, or is it beneficial to release it?

And so, the forgiveness is to release that. It's not to excuse their behavior, It's not to rationalize their behavior.

Now, from there, if you want to get into a new relationship with that parent despite them abusing you, then that's purely up to you. In those situations, I would never say, 'No, you must take them back,' or anything like that. These are very difficult, extenuating circumstances."

- Adam Coleman, author of “The Children We Left Behind: How Western Culture Rationalizes Family Separation & Ignores The Pain Of Child Neglect”