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Back Forgive Me Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. Cover
  2. Prologue
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
  60. About the Author
  61. About the Book
  62. Read On
  63. Praise for Susan Lewis and Her Books
  64. Also by Susan Lewis
  65. About the Publisher

“I can’t really explain why having contact with the person who’d caused me so much harm became the catalyst for the next stage of my recovery, I can only tell you that it did. Perhaps it was because I realized that hating him and wishing him harm was never going to help me; it was simply going to continue to make me less of a person than I’d been before. I was moved enough by his letters to see him as a young man who wasn’t only sorry for what he’d done, but who, like me, was a victim of those who’d ordered the fire, and who, again like me, was probably going to suffer the consequences of it for the rest of his life. He had a conscience and he had a mother, and that made him so much more than just an arsonist.”

Sipping more water, she took another glance at her notes and raised her head. “I am fully persuaded,” she said, “that when Archie Colbrook acted that night it was with no malice toward me and my family. In fact, I believe without reservation that when he claims that he watched the house beforehand to make sure we’d left, he is speaking the truth. We did leave, but because I was unwell we only got to the end of the drive before I decided to go back.

“It is perfectly possible that Archie didn’t see me return. It was dark, and if he was at the back of the house it would have been impossible for him to know what was happening at the front. Also, when I went inside I didn’t turn on any more lights. We’d left some on, so there was nothing to alert him to the fact that anything had changed.

“What I’m saying is that I don’t believe he acted with a reckless disregard for human life. It’s the person who wanted the attaché case who should be held to account for this crime, but we aren’t able to do that here, today. Please don’t think I’m saying that Archie shouldn’t also be held to account, he is the one who set the fire and though I know he deeply regrets it, he understands very well that he has to bear responsibility for it. This is why he has pleaded guilty to the first count of arson. He is not trying to run away from what he’s done, unlike those who are hiding behind him.”