What would you do if someone that had been very horrible to you as a child pretty much abused you, decided to ask for forgiveness just before they died ?

[Lardlizard]

Puts you in a awkward situation as you may not want to offer forgiveness

However you. Could feel guilty after they have died

I wouldn’t go.

If they want to apologise, they can do it by letter. If you wish to forgive them after that, you can do so. But it’s not compulsory.

I'm going to be facing this soon. HIGHLY abusive mother, cries and says she's suicidal if anyone presses her on what she put us all through. Her son sticks up for her. Her other daughter thinks it would benefit me to make up!! I expect I'll be pressed when her death approaches. Not decided what to do but it doesn't involve absolving her of guilt. More likely to make her feel more shit, or to decide not to and to just let her die without resolving it. None of them stuck up for me in my 15 years of hell, so screw them.

I'm with Bigly.

I was left angry for years after he died. I wanted to hear him say he was sorry and that what he had done to me was terrible. I needed to hear that acknowledgment. And I never got it. I'm not saying I would have forgiven though.

I would want to hear their apology. I wouldn't necessarily forgive, nor would I necessarily say much more than "I'm glad you've acknowledged it."