On Apology

I heard about On Apology by Anton Lazare M.D. while listening to a piece on sexual harassment on NPR. To be honest, it wasn’t very hopeful. The guy offering the apology had all the words right, had worked through the writing process with a psychotherapist, and yet clearly as a person he just wasn’t quite there yet. The woman did her best to listen to his apology, but she was clearly and understandably skeptical and angry.

Nonetheless, the book sounded interesting and given I had been having my own issues with harassment, I decided to check it out. On Apology turned out to be an excellent find. It helped me to better understand the apology I so badly wanted and to write the apology I needed to offer. I found myself returning to the book once again several weeks ago because in the end, we all make mistakes and then what’s left is an apology. For my part, I find the process of writing them difficult, time consuming, and sometimes humiliating or angering, but also healing.

I added a contact page to this website in case anyone would like to send along a message or apology.

Likewise, if anyone would like to request an apology, please feel free to let me know.