Christine Longaker

Dear friends and supporters, Thank you very much for your continued support of the book. I’m happy to say that I’ve finished another chapter – how to make our peace with someone we’ve harmed, how to apologize and how to make our peace spiritually. I have great hope that some of this material, gathered from different sources and test-run by myself, will be really helpful to people struggling with forgiving themselves. Now I start work on the chapter on Forgiveness. I’ve outlined it quite a number of times, and yesterday’s outline seems like a good one to keep. So that’s my starting point today. There’s a lot of material for this chapter, and so how it’s presented and unfolds is important. And speaking of test runs, I’ll be using this material to work on forgiving an old grudge – it’s funny how many dark corners we can find that need cleaning when we’re willing to look. This will show me if the chapter is authentic and if it works. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. By believing in this book and the good it can do for others, you’ve given me the freedom to focus on the writing. I’m deeply grateful for your kindness and support. With much love, Christine

Dear supporters of the self-compassion book, Good morning. I hope you’re doing well and enjoy the beautiful fall days. There was a generous response to my recent appeal, and I am so very grateful to you all. This means I can devote my time to the book. The rewrite of the chapter on self-forgiveness has gone really well, as I included more personal aspects from my newsletters. It’s still too long but I’m very happy with it. It will be one of the strongest chapters in the book so I’m glad I gave time to re-work it. Now I’m working on the following chapter – making our peace with the person we harmed, including how to make a good apology. The outline is ready and now I’m gathering former writing from my newsletters to bring it alive. I taught recently in the Sunday meditations about how to make a good apology, and everyone really appreciated it. It’s something so important and yet we know so little about it! There’s such an inspiration in our connection, I feel you here with me each day as I write. And I’m so grateful. Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness and support. Warmest wishes, Christine

Dear supporters, I'm so touched by everyone's response to my last update. Thank you, so very much. With your support, I can focus my energy on the book — which is what I really want to be doing. I feel your presence and love here each morning when I sit down to write, and that inspires me as I work. I'm currently on the Forgiveness chapter, and I've had some valuable insights drawing on Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings on compassion and forgiveness. I decided to build the chapter around that framework, and it's much stronger and clearer for it. As a way of saying thank you, I'd love to share a chapter from the beginning or end of the book with you. If you're interested, please reach out — my email is on my website (I'm not able to post it here). I hope you're enjoying the fall light and colors, wherever you are. Again, many thanks for your kindness. May millions of beings benefit. Keeping you always in my heart and in my prayers, Christine

Dear supporters of the self-compassion book, I hope this finds you doing well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your past and present donations toward the self-compassion book. It’s really allowed me to keep going and to make important progress. If you also receive my newsletter, then you will be familiar with this update. I’d like to fill you in on the situation now, as I’ve reached a critical crossroads. My basic pension income is quite low, and with a 20% drop in the value of the dollar, there’s less money available for daily life and health insurance costs. And my expenses for the book and weekly newsletter have not gone down, which come to about $6000 each year. Besides your wonderful support, in past years, I earned income from the retreats in Sri Lanka – and this year it didn’t happen due to low enrollment. And I received donations each month from people who were grateful for my newsletters and Sunday meditations. In the first half of 2026, this regular income has gone extremely low. I no longer have enough money to pay for living and book writing expenses. It would be wonderful if you could let me know that you are willing to continue offering donations on a regular basis. For many these days, there’s much less available, so I completely understand if it’s not possible. I had taken a break from giving seminars so I would have more time to write the book, as the planning and delivery of one weekend seminar can take up to 2- 3 weeks of work time. Without regular donations, I may start organizing 3 seminars a year, because it’s important that I have enough to live on and pay the bills. I will always guide the Sunday online meditations; however, the newsletters may come only once or twice a month. Giving seminars may slow down the progress, however my heart is still committed to finishing this book. In fact, I’m making important progress in my life, related to the chapter on “Forgiveness”. Part of my inspiration is knowing there’s a loving group of people cheering me on. Whatever you can donate is deeply appreciated. If you can give regularly, then I can plan for the coming year. Whatever you can donate is deeply appreciated. Thank you so much for your offerings. Each morning in my meditation, I feel our connection, and I’m very grateful for your good wishes and kindness. Warmest wishes, Christine

Dear friends and supporters of the book, A dear old friend offered me a cooler place to stay in the south of England in July, and it was a very supportive place for writing. Now I've been offered to stay in the hills of Switzerland for August, as with the frequent heat domes, Spain has been having extreme temperatures this summer. Feeling cooler here, and the writing is flowing. I’ve finished the chapter on Anger and am starting to tackle the outline for the chapter on Forgiving others. I’m excited about this as the chapter will bring in surprising and unique points that my readers have found really helpful. And, what else is unique is that the chapter that will come after, called “Forgiveness in the light of our true nature” is going to include special spiritual perspectives that help the reader understand how forgiveness is a gesture of grace that gets us in touch with the loving mercy that’s part of our loving, skylike nature. I now have someone who has offered to coach me so I can keep track of all the details related to this project. There’s many to track, besides the writing itself. I’m still looking for help from a professional writer, a blurb/ marketing writer, and a graphic artist. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your donations, your care and support. Warmest wishes, Christine