The Power of Forgiveness

Rachel Louise Snyder lost her Jewish mother at 8 and was kicked out of her evangelical father's home at 16 after years of physical abuse. What she did with her life's story is instructive.

Rachel Louise Snyder, summer of 2021 © Deborah Copaken

First, before we get to Rachel Louise Snyder’s story, I have some tangentially-related housekeeping. Last week, I sent out an essay entitled, “Deconstructing the Red Book,” sparked, in no small part, by the thoughts of my classmate who lived through the January 6th riots and implored us all toward de…