“Forgiveness is About Building Your Identity Again After the Transgression”: Narrative Identity and Turning Points in the Forgiveness Process

Authors

  • Anne Haikola University of Eastern Finland

Keywords:

forgiveness, turning point, narrative analysis, life story, narrative identity

Abstract

Forgiveness is a multilayered process. However, there is little research on how individuals construct their narrative identity through self-positioning at turning points in the forgiveness process. The present study investigated these questions by interviewing 22 Finnish adults, applying McAdams’s life story interview method. Data-driven thematic narrative analysis demonstrated six turning points for the positioning self: (1) prologue: reflecting on the self from a distance, (2) the self gets help from others, (3) battling with the self, (4) the enlightened self, (5) the self initiates confrontation and (6) epilogue: the stronger future self. For the participants, these turning points were complex and profound experiences. Narrative turning points of forgiveness represented the many shades and phases of the forgiveness process that shaped participants’ positions and lives. The process was not linear and included stalled phases. Self-positioning moved from transgression to forgiveness, and in this process, the self’s agency varied from external to active. Participants described turning points in narratives of learning and empowerment with a strong protagonist who wants to move on in life. Turning points of forgiveness and self-positions may take different narrative forms in the future as individuals continue to narrate their forgiveness.

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Published

2025-08-18

How to Cite

Haikola, A. (2025). “Forgiveness is About Building Your Identity Again After the Transgression”: Narrative Identity and Turning Points in the Forgiveness Process. Narrative Works, 14(1). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NW/article/view/35254

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Research Articles