Disgrace by Coetzee

Sometimes when life comes a little harder than usual, it's apparent that I fall back to some themes in my 4 pathetic O Levels and A Levels literature books. It's a little comforting to know that somewhere out there (even in the fictional world), someone has experienced something like this.

Disgrace. How can one reach redemption? And is redemption simply just a state of mind? Or does society have to consider you as 'redeemed' for it to happen?