Stories That Heal: Marina Cantacuzino on Compassion, Courage & Forgiveness

Across the world there are individuals whose work quietly reshapes our understanding of what it means to be human. Marina Cantacuzino, the award-winning journalist and founder of The Forgiveness Project, is one of those rare voices who has devoted her life to illuminating the power of compassion in the face of harm, division, and despair. The Charter for Compassion is honored to call The Forgiveness Project a partner in our shared mission to cultivate empathy and healing across communities.

Marina began her career as a journalist, committed to exploring the personal stories that reveal the deeper truths of human behavior. Her reporting was never simply about events; it was always about people—how they endure, how they make meaning, and how they rebuild themselves after trauma. It was this deep curiosity, paired with a commitment to peace and restorative understanding, that eventually led her to create The Forgiveness Project in 2004.

At its core, The Forgiveness Project is a storytelling initiative—one that gathers the testimonies of people from every corner of the world who have lived through violence, betrayal, conflict, or profound loss, and who have chosen, in their own ways and on their own terms, to engage with forgiveness. Marina’s gift has been to hold these stories with tenderness and integrity, allowing them to stand not as moral directives, but as invitations. She has always understood forgiveness not as an obligation or a quick remedy, but as a complex, deeply personal process rooted in courage.

Through Marina’s leadership, The Forgiveness Project has become a global resource for individuals and communities seeking pathways beyond cycles of harm. Its programs—including the award-winning RESTORE prison initiative—have touched thousands, offering language, tools, and companionship to people navigating some of the hardest experiences of their lives.

Marina’s journalism and her work with survivors, offenders, peacemakers, and ordinary individuals grappling with extraordinary circumstances culminated in her celebrated books, including The Forgiveness Project: Stories for a Vengeful Age and Forgiveness Is Really Strange (co-authored with Masi Noor and illustrated by Sophie Standing). Her writings reflect the qualities she brings to every conversation: humility, clarity, curiosity, and a fierce commitment to honoring the dignity of others. Readers come away not with easy answers, but with a deeper understanding of the human spirit and the possibilities that emerge when we choose compassion over retribution.

Her latest work continues to challenge assumptions about justice and healing, reminding us that forgiveness is not about forgetting or condoning harm, but about creating space for transformation—individually and collectively.

For the Charter for Compassion, Marina’s work is more than aligned with our values; it is a profound embodiment of them. The Forgiveness Project has long been a partner in our collective efforts to nurture empathy, build peace, and support communities in moving from cycles of suffering toward the possibility of renewal. Marina’s storytelling approach complements the Charter’s mission beautifully: she centers lived experience, honors complexity, and trusts that compassion—when cultivated intentionally—can help heal the divisions that fracture people, families, and societies.

As we continue to deepen our collaboration, we celebrate Marina Cantacuzino as a compassionate leader, a thoughtful journalist, and a visionary who reminds us that forgiveness is neither weakness nor surrender. It is an act of profound courage—one that can restore humanity where it has been fractured.

Her work offers a vital reminder for all of us: that even in a world shaped by injustice and conflict, the possibility of healing remains. And through storytelling, community, and the shared commitment to compassion, that possibility grows stronger.

Listen to their episode on Substack.