Rape survivor teams up with her rapist to write book
Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger shocked the world when they appeared on Ted Talks, talking about how they have decided to reconcile and come together to write a book.
It all started twelve years ago when Thordis was 16 and in love for the first time. However, what she did not know was that she had fallen in love with a man who would later rape her.
“Along with the account of the violence that he subjected me to, the words “I want to find forgiveness” dared back at me, surprising nobody but myself. But deep down I realized that this was my way out of my suffering, because regardless of whether or not he deserved my forgiveness, I deserved peace,” Thordis recalls as she sat down to write the very first letter she wrote to Tom in hope of confronting the pain.
After countless letters and meetings between the two, they finally decided to tell their story of reconciliation in a book.
The book, entitled 'South of Forgiveness', is an "unprecedented collaboration between a survivor and a perpetrator, each equally committed to exploring the darkest moment of their lives. It is a true story about being bent but not broken, of facing fear with courage, and of finding hope even in the most wounded of places."
Listen to them as they tell their story below.