While most of us have never been in the exact shoes as Michael, most of us have been in ones at least resembling his. When evil reveals itself amidst what we have always considered good, we are left questioning what good actually is. When betrayal rises out of what we have always known as love, we find ourselves doubting if love is even real. And if instead of facing that evil and betrayal on the outside, we are pushed one step further to confront its existence within our very selves, we too are left wondering how we could ever be good or lovable or worthy of living either.

Thankfully, we can get past that fractured reality. Will it be easy? No. As the film reveals, for some victims, acknowledgment of any potential good that could ever come from their torment may be unimaginable. For some who have been made to face the evil within themselves, believing that there is anything of value left within them may be near impossible. But in a story that actually turns out to be more of a love story than anything else, what The Reader tells us is that it doesn't have to be.

In the history of our world, unimaginably atrocious acts have been committed. In the history of our own lives, deep and painful injuries have been suffered. But as The Reader proposes, just because there is great evil in the past doesn't mean the door cannot be opened for great good in the future. Just because betrayal and its pain abound doesn't mean love and its healing cannot also. Sure, we can ignore their coexistence; we can bottle up the pain, confusion, and shame their collision create; or instead we can acknowledge the intersecting reality of good, evil, hate, and love, and in doings so, remind ourselves that, no matter our nation's history or our own past, we each have the freedom to choose which path we will follow today

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