When Sorry Isn't Enough: Making Things Right with Those You Love

Gary Chapman · Jennifer Thomas

Apr 2013 · Moody Publishers

About this ebook

“I said I was sorry!”

Even in the best of relationships, all of us make mistakes. We do and say things we later regret and hurt the people we love most. So we need to make things right. But simply saying you’re sorry is usually not enough.

In this book, #1 New York Times bestselling author Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas unveil new ways to effectively approach and mend fractured relationships. Even better, you’ll discover how meaningful apologies provide the power to make your friendships, family, and marriage stronger than ever before.

When Sorry Isn’t Enough will help you . . .

• Cool down heated arguments
• Offer apologies that are fully accepted
• Rekindle love that has been dimmed by pain
• Restore and strengthen valuable relationships
• Trade in tired excuses for honesty, trust, and joy

*This book was previously published as The Five Languages of Apology. Content has been significantly revised and updated.

Ratings and reviews

25 plus years ago when I officially started working in my company's customer service department I found myself tripping over the words "I'm sorry", as if they were stuck in my throat. That's just not something most of us are used to saying. I certainly hadn't had it said to me very often and never in any meaningful way. Realizing apologizing was part of the job description, that night, at home while taking a shower, I practiced saying "I'm sorry" over and over again as many different ways as I could think to say it; not to fake it, I've meant it every time I've said it, but to unstick it from my throat so it would be understood to be sincere by my customers and everyone I owe an apology to. I'd read, and highly recommend, Gary Chapman's "The 5 Love Languages". After spending so much time learning what people need in an apology on the job, I was interested to get more information about apologies, especially on a personal level. So many good relationships go bad because neither party know how to communicate their own or the other's love language, which is why the first book is so important. Lots of relationships go from bad to worse because one or both people refuse to admit that they're human and make mistakes. Even if someone is willing to apologize they don't know how to do it in a way that's meaningful to the other person. Remember, apologies are not about what you're comfortable saying. Apologies are what the other person needs to hear. Which is where this book comes in. It does a great job of breaking down an apology into its component parts and explains how certain parts may be more important to the person you're apologizing to and what needs to be said so they'll understand you're sincere. The most important chapter may be the chapter on forgiving ourselves. My main objection is it's use of Christian scriptures and values to justify many of the concepts discussed. This may put off non-Christians or people who've been demonized by misguided Christians. But the language of apology is such a basic need to getting through this life without leaving behind a lot of burnt bridges that I advise everyone to read this book, take the good information and don't be put off by what doesn't resonate with you.

This book is an excellent companion to the Five Love Languages. This book focuses on the five different apology languages and how to identify and speak each one. This is a great resource to help build your personal, family, and business relationships with other people. I love this book.

I loved the book it helped me allot personally and in mi relationship now i can see stuff in a different aspect ... I recommend this book to who ever, buy it u won't regret it

About the author

GARY CHAPMAN--author, speaker, counselor--has a passion for people and for helping them form lasting relationships. He is the #1 bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages series and director of Marriage and Family Life Consultants, Inc. Gary travels the world presenting seminars, and his radio programs air on more than 400 stations. For more information visit his website at www.5lovelanguages.com.

JENNIFER M. THOMAS, Ph.D., is a motivational speaker specializing in the five love languages and communication. She is a business consultant and psychologist. She recently gave a TEDx talk on the two essentials for healthy relationships. Hint: They involve a love tank and forgiveness. She is co-author (with Gary Chapman) of When Sorry Isn't Enough and The Five Languages of Apology. Her books have been translated into fifteen foreign languages and sold hundres of thousands of copies around the world. Jennifer has a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland, as well as a BA in Psychology and Religion from the University of Virginia. Visit her website at www.drjenthomas.com to take a free apology profile and register for her enewsletter.