What Would Ever Be Enough? Reading Acts of Forgiveness in 2025

Title: The Acts of Forgiveness

Author: Maura Cheeks

Genre: fiction literary

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Acts of Forgiveness follows Willie Revel, a former journalist who returns home to help save her family’s struggling construction business just as a new reparations law is introduced, one that allows Black families to seek justice for racial harms done to past generations. The Revel family spans four generations and each one views the law differently, mirroring the national divide surrounding what justice, accountability, and repair should actually look like.

What I appreciated most about this book is how it challenged my own thinking about forgiveness and reparations. What would ever be enough to repair  America’s transgressions against African Americans and our ancestors? Is there a dollar amount that could truly address the wealth gap? Or would real accountability require a global, public acknowledgment of the full truth history without minimizing it or sweeping it under the rug? I believe a meaningful starting point would be telling the honest history of how this country was built, even if it makes people uncomfortable. Still, I’m not sure America is ready for that level of truth or action.

One of my favorite aspects of the novel is the full circle legacy of women writers in Willie’s family. Willie could easily be seen as a “failed” journalist. Despite a top-tier education, her career never took off. She became a single mother from a one-night stand and returned home to help salvage her family’s business, which might also be viewed as failure. Yet, it is Willie’s journalism skillset to uncover the truth that ultimately allow her to research her family’s lineage and apply for reparations. Through this process, she discovers that her great-great-great-aunt, once enslaved and later freed, published a newspaper advocating for women’s rights. That legacy continues with Willie’s daughter, Paloma, a playwright whose creative voice is nurtured by a supportive teacher and an encouraging family. Seeing that lineage come full circle was beautiful and a great example of “it’s in your genes”.

I also loved how the novel presents four generations of the Revel family, each shaped by their own lived experiences. The grandfather questions whether the law will ever pass at all, having witnessed a lifetime of broken promises to Black Americans. Willie’s parents are focused on building something tangible and lasting, even if it requires moral compromises. Willie and her brother Seb strive to move through the world with dignity, clarity, and a sense of justice. Paloma, exposed to all of it, tries to remain hopeful while making sense of a deeply complex reality.

One lingering question I had involved Willie and the father of her daughter. When Willie visits the apartment where she remembers him once living and realizes he still lives there, she chooses not to interact with him. I couldn’t help but wonder whether, after all those years, he ever felt a desire to know his child.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a  thought provoking read. Reading Acts of Forgiveness in 2025 felt especially timely, given our current political climate where people often seem to be living in entirely different realities at the same time. This novel feels like an important entry point for conversations about accountability, history, and what justice for Black Americans could or should look like.

- Maya & The Spine Down