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Yielded Captive
Lord, this was not how it was supposed to end.
Allison Carter had dedicated her life to being a missionary in the jungles of Peru. Now she was being dragged into an unknown future by the very people she had come to reach.
They had attacked without warning or provocation. With her infant son in her arms and her husband, Eric, lying facedown with an arrow in his back, death seemed preferable to captivity in a primitive tribe, with customs and mindsets alien to her own. But Allison had to stay alive--if only to protect Isaac--to raise him to fear the one true God ...
... that same God who had allowed her to suffer so much?
Stubborn as she was in resisting her abusive captors, Allison's greatest battle was not with them, but with the God she thought she knew.
Why did He not rescue her? Where was He in her suffering?
At times gut-wrenching, at others flavored with humor, Yielded Captive explores a question often left unanswered by modern-day Christianity: Why would a God of love allow His own children to suffer--and what could He possibly accomplish from such suffering?
Allison Carter had dedicated her life to being a missionary in the jungles of Peru. Now she was being dragged into an unknown future by the very people she had come to reach.
They had attacked without warning or provocation. With her infant son in her arms and her husband, Eric, lying facedown with an arrow in his back, death seemed preferable to captivity in a primitive tribe, with customs and mindsets alien to her own. But Allison had to stay alive--if only to protect Isaac--to raise him to fear the one true God ...
... that same God who had allowed her to suffer so much?
Stubborn as she was in resisting her abusive captors, Allison's greatest battle was not with them, but with the God she thought she knew.
Why did He not rescue her? Where was He in her suffering?
At times gut-wrenching, at others flavored with humor, Yielded Captive explores a question often left unanswered by modern-day Christianity: Why would a God of love allow His own children to suffer--and what could He possibly accomplish from such suffering?
- GenresFictionChristian Fiction
364 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2012
5 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Dalaina May
1 book24 followersDalaina May lives with her husband, Dan, and their four rowdy boys in the jungles of Peru, where they serve on a church-planting team among the Caquinte tribe. Dalaina spends most of her time dragging her children out of trees, embarrassing herself in front of her neighbors, and blogging about her family’s life and ministry at DanandDalaina.com. When she has a free moment, she appreciates good sushi and a back rub.
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May 28, 2013What is your desire for this book and the audience who reads it? What do you want your readers to experience through it?
I think it is easy for believers to just sugarcoat what living for God looks like. When the unspeakable happens, we have the choice to either walk away from our faith, ignore the fact that our beliefs and reality are in opposition, or re-examine our theology. Just as writing Yielded Captive made me take another look at what Scripture says about God and the Christian life, I hope that my readers are left with a more accurate view of who God is and that they stand in awe at the complexity and intricacy of His nature. Ultimately, I hope they walk away with the understanding that though God's ways are impossible to predict or understand, He is always, always, always good.
I think it is easy for believers to just sugarcoat what living for God looks like. When the unspeakable happens, we have the choice to either walk away from our faith, ignore the fact that our beliefs and reality are in opposition, or re-examine our theology. Just as writing Yielded Captive made me take another look at what Scripture says about God and the Christian life, I hope that my readers are left with a more accurate view of who God is and that they stand in awe at the complexity and intricacy of His nature. Ultimately, I hope they walk away with the understanding that though God's ways are impossible to predict or understand, He is always, always, always good.
May 15, 2013
Yielded Captive is a great title for this book: it took me captive! What a page turner, I just couldn’t put it down. I started reading it on the bus, having no idea how emotionally involved I would get with the characters (please don’t let me cry, Lord!). Dalaina May jumps right into the story, grabs the reader’s interest, and away you go with her on a dramatic journey deep into the Peruvian jungles.
The main character is a young woman called Allison who, with her husband Eric, has dedicated her life to reaching the Shampiri tribe for Jesus. The story opens with Shampiri warriers shooting Eric and the small missionary team with arrows, while capturing Allison and their toddler son Isaac. After a long, exhausting trek through the jungle with the warriers, Allison is dismayed at being given to the Shampiri chief as his wife.
Grieving for the loss of her husband, raped repeatedly by the man she is forced to live with, and unable to communicate with those around her, Allison contemplates ending her life. How could God put her in such an awful situation? What purpose could He possibly have in allowing this to happen?
You will have to read the book for yourself to discover the wonderful – and unexpected – things God accomplishes through Allison living with this tribe, and the gracious way in which He grows spiritual fruit in her life. There are twists and turns along the way to keep the reader on her toes.
I loved this book, in fact I read it twice in three weeks! I’ve even bought a copy for a friend’s birthday (ssshh, don’t tell). It’s got everything in it: drama, love, adventure, romance, suspense. I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I hope Dalaina May keeps writing books because I would love to read them.
The main character is a young woman called Allison who, with her husband Eric, has dedicated her life to reaching the Shampiri tribe for Jesus. The story opens with Shampiri warriers shooting Eric and the small missionary team with arrows, while capturing Allison and their toddler son Isaac. After a long, exhausting trek through the jungle with the warriers, Allison is dismayed at being given to the Shampiri chief as his wife.
Grieving for the loss of her husband, raped repeatedly by the man she is forced to live with, and unable to communicate with those around her, Allison contemplates ending her life. How could God put her in such an awful situation? What purpose could He possibly have in allowing this to happen?
You will have to read the book for yourself to discover the wonderful – and unexpected – things God accomplishes through Allison living with this tribe, and the gracious way in which He grows spiritual fruit in her life. There are twists and turns along the way to keep the reader on her toes.
I loved this book, in fact I read it twice in three weeks! I’ve even bought a copy for a friend’s birthday (ssshh, don’t tell). It’s got everything in it: drama, love, adventure, romance, suspense. I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I hope Dalaina May keeps writing books because I would love to read them.
November 14, 2018
Incredible
Very few books I read more than once. I am convicted by this true story of one woman’s journey to surrender to God. It is written honestly about her feelings while being culturally sensitive. What the enemy meant for evil God used for HIS good.
Very few books I read more than once. I am convicted by this true story of one woman’s journey to surrender to God. It is written honestly about her feelings while being culturally sensitive. What the enemy meant for evil God used for HIS good.
August 7, 2014
This was a very enjoyable book, set in an uncommon setting and told from an uncommon perspective. It's unabashedly a "Christian" book and there's nothing subtle about it. It's a fictional novel, but I felt like most of the events and plot details were quite realistic; they weren't necessarily chosen to further the author's goals, but also chosen because that's likely what would happen in that situation and with those sort of characters. It's clear that the author has a good bit of experience with "primitive" agricultural tribes in that area, and the details of daily life and concerns for that tribal group are fairly rich and come mostly from an "insider's" perspective.
The writing quality wasn't spectacular and there were some funny (i.e. very out of place or cheesy) lines from time to time, but the plot was well constructed, and the straightforward writing of the details was enough to keep it moving along well. The only exception was that I felt the opening few chapters of the book were a good bit too unbelievable. As someone personally experienced in several cross-cultural settings among rural tribes (in Africa), and also someone educated and skilled in the cross-cultural adaptation process, I felt like there was no way the main character could've responded as she did immediately after she was kidnapped by this tribe. I'm no psychiatrist, but it's incredibly unlikely she would've jumped right into the new language acquisition process and felt comfortable doing new chores/lifestyle, all the while she's been kidnapped and saw her husband killed and her baby was just taken from her arms and disappeared. Surely she would've had a breakdown and been almost completely non-functioning for weeks. Many first-time cross-cultural participants (as she was) have a breakdown in much much easier circumstances and with no stress of kidnapping/murder to go along with it. Instead of a breakdown, the main character of this book jumped right in to new language learning, new (tough) chores, and meeting her new neighbors, apparently not even wondering where her baby was hauled off to. So that was totally unbelievable, as far as I'm concerned, but thankfully within a few more chapters, enough time has passed by that the main character's lifestyle/efforts can then be taken for granted. Later on, the author sort of excused the implausibly easy early adaptation of the main character by saying God did it for her. That well could be true, but I still doubt she could've had the right mental/emotional frame of mind to engage at all at that point.
In the overall plot of the book, there's some adventure within it, but mostly it's about relationship, primarily how one responds to God when circumstances are far beyond control and all expectation... when things keep going from bad to worse. It tells a story of submitting to God's will, choosing to trust in him, even to yield oneself "captive" (either to God's will or to the kidnapping tribe, I think the author is saying that both are true), and of God's power to both overcome incredibly difficult circumstances, and to make himself known through them. It's preachy at times, but mostly I felt it handled the tougher ideas and topics that are at its core with much more balance and nuance than is common in many American Christian circles. As a Christian myself, I found the plot and details of the story to be rewarding and sometimes encouraging, while also helping me think about some very tough (and still quite possible) situations. However, a non-Christian reading this book might have a hard time getting past the basic assumptions of the main characters, maybe wondering why they take the details of their faith for granted even in the midst of so much difficulty. But anyone who really knows Jesus knows that he's not to be taken for granted, and when it comes down to it, he's the one unyielding detail in our lives.
The writing quality wasn't spectacular and there were some funny (i.e. very out of place or cheesy) lines from time to time, but the plot was well constructed, and the straightforward writing of the details was enough to keep it moving along well. The only exception was that I felt the opening few chapters of the book were a good bit too unbelievable. As someone personally experienced in several cross-cultural settings among rural tribes (in Africa), and also someone educated and skilled in the cross-cultural adaptation process, I felt like there was no way the main character could've responded as she did immediately after she was kidnapped by this tribe. I'm no psychiatrist, but it's incredibly unlikely she would've jumped right into the new language acquisition process and felt comfortable doing new chores/lifestyle, all the while she's been kidnapped and saw her husband killed and her baby was just taken from her arms and disappeared. Surely she would've had a breakdown and been almost completely non-functioning for weeks. Many first-time cross-cultural participants (as she was) have a breakdown in much much easier circumstances and with no stress of kidnapping/murder to go along with it. Instead of a breakdown, the main character of this book jumped right in to new language learning, new (tough) chores, and meeting her new neighbors, apparently not even wondering where her baby was hauled off to. So that was totally unbelievable, as far as I'm concerned, but thankfully within a few more chapters, enough time has passed by that the main character's lifestyle/efforts can then be taken for granted. Later on, the author sort of excused the implausibly easy early adaptation of the main character by saying God did it for her. That well could be true, but I still doubt she could've had the right mental/emotional frame of mind to engage at all at that point.
In the overall plot of the book, there's some adventure within it, but mostly it's about relationship, primarily how one responds to God when circumstances are far beyond control and all expectation... when things keep going from bad to worse. It tells a story of submitting to God's will, choosing to trust in him, even to yield oneself "captive" (either to God's will or to the kidnapping tribe, I think the author is saying that both are true), and of God's power to both overcome incredibly difficult circumstances, and to make himself known through them. It's preachy at times, but mostly I felt it handled the tougher ideas and topics that are at its core with much more balance and nuance than is common in many American Christian circles. As a Christian myself, I found the plot and details of the story to be rewarding and sometimes encouraging, while also helping me think about some very tough (and still quite possible) situations. However, a non-Christian reading this book might have a hard time getting past the basic assumptions of the main characters, maybe wondering why they take the details of their faith for granted even in the midst of so much difficulty. But anyone who really knows Jesus knows that he's not to be taken for granted, and when it comes down to it, he's the one unyielding detail in our lives.
February 18, 2013
This book is a love story. This isn't your boy meets girl love story, this is a story of God's never-stopping, never-giving-up mission to reach all nations, tribes and tongues with His salvation. This is a story of real love, the kind that knows unspeakable pain, deep brokenness, struggle and surrender. This is the story of a ripping away of that was good to bring about that which is eternally valuable. Like the story of God's love for us it's a story of suffering. It's a story of pain. It's a story of hope.
I couldn't put it down.
This book drew me in. It captivated. Not that this story was easy reading. It wasn't. It confronted me at the level of my own tendency to give God only what is comfortable, at that place where I all to often fail to believe that God is good at all times and in all circumstances instead ask "What good is He to me?" I quickly forgot that I was reading a novel for it felt so much more like a biography. As I turned the pages it didn't feel like fiction and I could put myself in Allison's shoes all too easily. I knew her pain and her rebellion. I tasted her tears. But the hope, oh the hope of one who is surrendered, one who learns to love with the love of Christ. Now that makes a story worth telling.
Well written, fast paced and complex. Yielded Captive is an excellent book.
***I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion***
I couldn't put it down.
This book drew me in. It captivated. Not that this story was easy reading. It wasn't. It confronted me at the level of my own tendency to give God only what is comfortable, at that place where I all to often fail to believe that God is good at all times and in all circumstances instead ask "What good is He to me?" I quickly forgot that I was reading a novel for it felt so much more like a biography. As I turned the pages it didn't feel like fiction and I could put myself in Allison's shoes all too easily. I knew her pain and her rebellion. I tasted her tears. But the hope, oh the hope of one who is surrendered, one who learns to love with the love of Christ. Now that makes a story worth telling.
Well written, fast paced and complex. Yielded Captive is an excellent book.
***I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion***
February 25, 2013
Occasionally a book comes along that is so compelling and so good that I can't get it out of my head. Such is the case with this novel. From the opening pages I was absolutely caught up in the heartrending story of Allison's captivity by the Shampiri tribe of Peru. More than just a captivating tale, however, this book will cause you to examine faith far beyond the pithy and rote "Thy will be done" prayer so glibly prayed. What does it really mean to sacrifice all for the cause of Christ? How much might God ask of us to further His kingdom? Allison's prayers and struggles during her captivity are authentic and poignant. . .and how God's presence and purpose induce her obedience and perseverance will inspire and convict. I highly, highly recommend this novel.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received an e-book copy of this book free from Dalaina May and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received an e-book copy of this book free from Dalaina May and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
September 20, 2015
Yielded Captive is a thought-provoking novel. What if you, as a wife and mother, were captured by a Stone Age Amazonian tribe and forced to become the wife of the chief, who killed your husband? That’s the scenario presented in this story. Allison and her husband spent three years trying in vain to reach a tribe who had never had contact with modern civilization. A few of the gifts they offered had been taken, but nothing else was seen of the tribe. Until—one day when, without warning, warriors burst out of the jungle shooting arrows at the men, and Allison was grabbed and hauled off into the rain forest with her 13-month-old son!
Read my full review here.
January 30, 2013
Yield captive stirred so many emotions in me that I don’t know if I can capture them all in this review; I love how the story taught us that through every situation/circumstances God is with us and all we need to do is lean and depend on Him. But I was also disappoint with some things in story and for some reason I really did not care for Allison or Eric, it’s strange that I felt more for Majiro, Isaac, Grace, Amita and Manitari. The ending of this book was too neatly wrapped up and somewhat predictable after finding out that Eric was alive. I gave this book five stars because I really love the conversations/talk/prayers that Allison had with God.
June 24, 2013
Yielded Captive is so well-written and captivating, it's hard to believe it's the author's first novel! The characters were well-developed and realistic, the message was clear without being preachy, and the story was comfortable yet definitely unpredictable. It has a strong gospel-centered message, which was both encouraging and convicting at times, but it never over-powered the story.
I enjoyed the many sub-plots and sub-sub-plots as well. It's definitely a page-turner, and I'm eager to read more by this author!
P.S. I just loved the ending!
I enjoyed the many sub-plots and sub-sub-plots as well. It's definitely a page-turner, and I'm eager to read more by this author!
P.S. I just loved the ending!
January 9, 2013
Yielded Captive captured my attention. The story kept me reading after bedtime. It is also one of the few books that have made me cry and laugh. Not just feeling sentimental, but actual tears, and actual escapes of giggles. Just when I think I have the plot figured out, I find another twist that foils my plans for the characters. The surprises I encountered are what propitiated my procrastination at bedtime. Warning, read this book with hours to spare!
December 4, 2014
It's really a 4.5 star book for me, but I just couldn't down grade it to 4 so 5 stars it is. I do highly recommend this book. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished reading. The only problem I had was there were few instances where the timelines of the characters didn't seem to match. No big problem. Just had the stop and think for a second then continue reading. I'd recommend it to friends and read it again, those are the signs of a really good book for me.
May 7, 2014
This is a great captivating story about missionaries who wanted to reach a particular group of unreached tribe. Eric and Allison prayed for God to open the door for this tribe to be saved. It happens, but not in the way they wanted it to. Through brokenness and relying on God, they realize that God's plan was the best plan!
If you have ever struggled in your faith, this book is for you!
If you have ever struggled in your faith, this book is for you!
May 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this book but I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had the ending been different. I know why it ended the way it did and it was good in that way but I was just rooting for a different one.
February 2, 2015
Christian mystery well done. Missionary outpost attacked, captives teach Jesus to tribe. Includes murder, rape, domestic violence. No cussing. TTS-enabled eBook © 2012 I suggest reading Adam's review below. this book is definitely Christian but not soft. Recommended.
November 9, 2013
Fantastic! still wonder if its based on actual events or purely fictional. Highly recommend reading it!
November 8, 2013
Very good book. Read it in a day! Would love to see the next book with Julia's story.
December 20, 2013
Missionaries to Peru
An unbelievable, CURRENT, true story!
An unbelievable, CURRENT, true story!
December 1, 2014
All I can say is Wow...an amazing book!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews