Fealty and Brainwash

I've been reading some interesting book.
One book is called Brainwash and it's history of the last century of brainwashing.   I originally reserved it because I was curious about the psychological affects of abuse and torture.  I'm doing a lot of thinking about abuse and how it changes personality and will.

The other book is a fantasy book by Elizabeth Moon called Oath of Fealty.  The old Duke who was secretly involved in worship of Liart, the god of torture, was killed and another Duke who serves gods of healing comes to the land.  The Duke finds a pregnant kitchen maid who describes being ritualistically tortured and raped and then was told the child was Liart's.  They forced her to swear silence and in speaking is afraid she'll be cursed.  Here's the Duke's response:

Child, the gods forgive such oaths...you are not bound to Liart.  You can renounce that oath and take a better one....you can't undo what's done, or unsay what's said...you can say differently this time.

I've repeatedly thought of this quote since I read the book months ago.  For me this captures something essential in my healing process.

More reflections later.