Forgive and forget. Turn the other cheek. Be the bigger person. American culture continually asks victims to move on and avoid further confrontation, but the ethos of forgiveness-above-all often lets perpetrators off the hook without accountability. In On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in a Unapologetic World, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg offers a crucial new perspective to navigating conflict, applying an ancient framework to the country’s most painful contemporary issues—from systemic racism and the legacy of enslavement to the #MeToo movement and Native American land rights—as well as personal transgressions.

On Repentance and Repair is rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides and his five stages of repentance: naming and owning harm; beginning to change; restitution and accepting consequences; apologizing; and making different choices. Grounded in traditional Jewish concepts while accessible to people from any, or no, religious background, On Repentance and Repair is a book for anyone who cares about creating a country and culture that is more whole than the one in which we live, and for anyone who has been hurt or who is struggling to take responsibility for their mistakes—That is to say, for everyone.