Captive Set Free – Author Interview & Giveaway

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Captive Set Free by Valerie Limmer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Captive Set Free
Author: Valerie Limmer
Publisher: Green Sap Publications
Release Date: October 18, 2022
Genre: Non-Fiction, Christian Living

Have you been hurt? Are you hounded by turbulent feelings and looping thoughts? Do you know you need to forgive but aren’t sure where to begin?

Captive Set Free is a lamppost along the path of healing, offering engaging stories and examples, explaining how forgiveness fits into our spiritual DNA, and examining mindsets that make forgiving easier or harder. In this book, you’ll learn how to

– take concrete steps to forgive;

– be sure forgiveness has taken hold in your heart; and

– guard your spirit from bitterness, both now and in the future.

If you’re tired of being imprisoned by pain and toxicity and want to step into the free and abundant life Jesus has planned for His children, this book is for you.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound | BookBub

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About the Author

Valerie Limmer is a missionary in Japan. She is neither a therapist nor a theologian, but she has experienced severe abuse from a handful of people. In Captive Set Free, she shares the principles and techniques she’s learned in her own life on her journeys towards forgiveness.

Connect with Valerie by visiting valerielimmer.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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Author Interview

When you’re not writing, what is something else that you enjoy filling your time with?

Well, I’m a bit of a workaholic. My husband and I are missionaries in Japan, sharing the good news of Jesus with the people there. I often combine my hobbies (like cooking) with outreach opportunities: like hosting a cooking club (or, in COVID times, a cooking channel on YouTube). I also really enjoy reading, drawing, and making Japanese wax food models.

Why this book?

Well, I’m not a therapist or a theologian, but over the course of my life I have experienced severe abuse from half a dozen people. Forgiveness has been a major theme in my life. I started writing Captive Set Free when I was healing from abuse I’d experienced as an adult. I realized that I wanted to share the principles and techniques I’d learned and applied to my own life with other people who might be struggling with the same issues. It’s a beautiful thing to witness God redeeming the horrors we’ve experienced and transforming them into something beautiful that can help other people.

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

I tend to be a very private person. Whenever I write, I try to be vulnerable enough to be effective, but without feeling like an emotional exhibitionist. However, God often asks me to share more of myself than I might be comfortable with the average person knowing. For me, this is scary—especially when hearing about all those internet trolls out there, or people who are super-critical. But the verse that keeps drawing me back to trusting and obeying Jesus is:

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

(Psalm 73:28)

Jesus is my refuge. I can trust Him, and I won’t hide away His good news of salvation to protect myself.

What is something that you would like readers to know before diving in?

Forgiveness requires courage and endurance, but you don’t need to have it all at the start. Sometimes starting with a prayer (“Jesus, please help me want to forgive”) is all we can do, and God delights to honor this type of prayer. We don’t need to have everything figured out at the start. We just need to be willing to listen to the tender voice of our Gentle Healer and have the desire to follow Him where He leads.

Do you have any advice for anyone who may be struggling with this area but not sure if this is the right book or if they’re ready for it?

If you’re looking for a book written by a therapist or a pastor, this is not the book for you. I’m neither.

But if you’ve been badly wounded or abused and you want someone to come alongside you, someone who’s been there and gone through many of the same struggles that you’re experiencing, then you might be interested in Captive Set Free.

I know how scary it is to be wounded and in need of help. If you go to someone who’s just going to tell you what to do and judge you if you don’t follow their advice—well, that sort of person doesn’t feel very safe. So, I try not to be like that. I try to open up and be vulnerable too. I’ve found that when we enter into those mutually vulnerable spaces together, that’s when really amazing things start to happen.

I hope that people who read Captive Set Free will feel safe as they do so. Sometimes when we’re struggling to forgive, we just need to know that the things we’re thinking and feeling are normal. This can go a long way to relieving us of our worries and enabling us to focus on the important work of forgiving.

What is your greatest hope that readers would take away from your writing?

Forgiving someone who has hurt you is possible! Not only is it possible, but the journey towards forgiveness will deepen you—both your faith, and your understanding of the forgiveness that Jesus offers to you. This can be a beautiful and wondrous journey. You will grow through the process, and as you do, Jesus will unlock doors to joy and peace in your heart that you might never have realized were there!

Thanks so much for sharing here with us!

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a copy of Captive Set Free and a $25 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight January 9, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on January 16, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!