By Marissa Wells
Contributing Writer
“From Punishment to Peace: Road Trips to Forgiveness,” by Tom Harrison IV, is a compelling new book that recounts the true story of two same-aged men, an uncle and his nephew, both born from tragedy and raised in abuse, who reunite years later and embark on a series of road trips in search of peace, forgiveness and redemption.
“The inspiration came after developing an immediate admiration towards my life-challenged uncle upon reconnecting after decades apart,” Harrison said. “I began to think this was something that I believe others could really benefit from, so I began to record our conversations. I used those recordings to begin the writing process.”
Within the book, Harrison shares battles of drug and alcohol addiction, physical and emotional abuse, workaholism, sexual abuse and more.
“The main kind of takeaway from the book is that men in particular are very difficult creatures to open up about the types of punishment and pain that they may be carrying for much of their life,” Harrison said. “The story attempts to show the path through these two characters that there is a way of potentially getting to a level of peace.”
It was important for Harrison to present a book that would prove to be relatable to readers.
“It’s important to create this book to show that we all carry punishments from our past, and how we handle those challenges can affect how we manage life and whether we inherit the abusive tendencies of our wrongdoers,” said the author.
“From Punishment to Peace” will be received by a universal audience and it’s Harrison hope that readers gain a positive connection with the story.
“I hope readers learn that we are not alone in carrying the challenges resulting from abuse, and that by sharing our struggles, we may be able to find our peace,” Harrison said.
There’s a spiritual/faith-based component to the book as well that Harrison likes to highlight.
“It’s an extremely important part of the journey that both characters take to ultimately get to their peaceful point,” Harrison said.
In addition to being an author, Harrison is a business consultant. He is based in Atlanta. For more information about the author and his work, visit FromPunishmentToPeace.com.
“From Punishment to Peace: Road Trips to Forgiveness” is available for $7.00 (eBook), $16.99 (paperback), and $25.99 (hardcover) via frompunishmenttopeace.com, Amazon, and Ingram Spark.