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You Can Let Go: Make Peace with Your Past, Break Free from Offense, and Move Forward with God
Let's face people are often disappointing. Sometimes they're downright hurtful. And in our reactionary culture, it's easy to feel wronged, offended, and weighed down when people trample our feelings. But living in hurt and resentment can steal our God-given joy. The good news? We actually have more control over how other people make us feel than we might think.
In You Can Let Go, Alexandra Hoover dives deep into our willingness to be offended, uncovering our wounded pride, our insecurities, and our misplaced trust in the things (and people) of this world. With great compassion, she helps us
· get to the root of why we feel offended
· understand why certain offenses hit harder than others
· find our identity in Christ rather than in how others view or treat us
· handle offenses with confidence, grace, and acceptance
· turn our insecurities into sources of empowerment
· embrace a life marked by deep acceptance and emotional freedom
Offense is something that we can not only get over but also live free from. Discover how to make peace with what's happened in the past and learn to live unoffendable.
In You Can Let Go, Alexandra Hoover dives deep into our willingness to be offended, uncovering our wounded pride, our insecurities, and our misplaced trust in the things (and people) of this world. With great compassion, she helps us
· get to the root of why we feel offended
· understand why certain offenses hit harder than others
· find our identity in Christ rather than in how others view or treat us
· handle offenses with confidence, grace, and acceptance
· turn our insecurities into sources of empowerment
· embrace a life marked by deep acceptance and emotional freedom
Offense is something that we can not only get over but also live free from. Discover how to make peace with what's happened in the past and learn to live unoffendable.
- GenresChristianNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2025
2354 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Hoover
4 books11 followersAlexandra Hoover is a compassionate writer, a sought-after speaker, and the author of Eyes Up and Without Wavering. With a heart for inspiring others, she combines biblical wisdom, practical insights, and a deep passion for helping people navigate life's challenges with faith and hope. A proud Latina, Alexandra serves her local church and is pursuing a master of arts in women and theology at Northern Seminary. As a wife and mother of three, she treasures balancing family life with ministry, finding joy in serving, and inspiring others. To learn more, visit AlexandraVHoover.com or connect on social media @AlexandraVHoover.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 16, 2025
It was the subtitle that grabbed me: “Make peace with your past, break free from offense, and move forward with God.”
Who doesn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want to live in that freedom?
I was fortunate to be part of Alexandra Hoover’s launch team for her new book You Can Let Go, and received an advance copy to read and review. Here are my thoughts on this very important book, written by a beautiful soul.
Throughout the book, I was so grateful for Alexandra’s vulnerability in honestly sharing her story. It gave you deeper appreciation for the message of You Can Let Go. This comes from someone who has cried the tears, been in the valley and faced the darkness. She is the first to admit that she still has hard days, but she’s staying the course in the Lord's strength. Not only does that make the book more powerful, but the real-life examples help you realise how anything can become an offense. It is so easy to lug issues around, and they (too quickly) become festering wounds if we don’t deal with them.
I did, however, find the first four chapters a bit hard going. Alexandra weaves a lot of her story into this part of the book, titled “Make peace with your past”. I appreciated her honesty, but I often felt bogged down by comparisons and word pictures. While they helped drive the point home, the writing strayed into redundancy sometimes, which clouded the train of thought.
The second and third sections of the book, “Break free from offense” and “Move forward with God”, are more practical and easier to follow. I have to highlight chapter seven, “Take back your identity”, which focuses on who we are in Christ. It was a very helpful section, especially when Alexandra broke down the different personalities we adopt in life, often unknowingly. She also showed how they can be countered when we are free in Christ and secure in our knowledge of who we are in Him. This is my favourite of many quotable quotes in this chapter:
“Jesus sits with me and whispers words that begin to heal all the offenses I’ve been carrying around my entire life, the things I’ll never hear an ‘I’m sorry’ for. And it seems as if He whispers, ‘I’ve made amends for you. So many amends. I love you.’ ”
Many reviewers have noted how important this book’s message is, because it applies to everyone. None of us is immune to offense. We all carry stuff we shouldn’t. There are big and little offenses, and the small ones quickly become monsters if unaddressed. It’s so easy to live offended and remain blissfully unaware of it.
I agree that living free and unoffended forms an integral part of our Christian walk. Like so many other Biblical basics (“Love your neighbour as yourself”), we fail miserably at this one. That’s why we need books like You Can Let Go to remind (and re-remind) us of the freedom we have in Christ. Of a different, easier, lighter way of life.
While this is a vital message, it is also simple. Like the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not difficult and doesn’t need to be explained with a concordance. So while I am very grateful for You Can Let Go, I do wonder if some of it could have been streamlined. I felt the repetition detracted from the beautifully simple heart of this book.
I still recommend this as important reading for anyone wanting to grow in their relationship with God and others. Despite a culture that loves to be offended about everything, there is another way. The Lord’s way. And thank God for using Alexandra to guide us in living that out.
Who doesn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want to live in that freedom?
I was fortunate to be part of Alexandra Hoover’s launch team for her new book You Can Let Go, and received an advance copy to read and review. Here are my thoughts on this very important book, written by a beautiful soul.
Throughout the book, I was so grateful for Alexandra’s vulnerability in honestly sharing her story. It gave you deeper appreciation for the message of You Can Let Go. This comes from someone who has cried the tears, been in the valley and faced the darkness. She is the first to admit that she still has hard days, but she’s staying the course in the Lord's strength. Not only does that make the book more powerful, but the real-life examples help you realise how anything can become an offense. It is so easy to lug issues around, and they (too quickly) become festering wounds if we don’t deal with them.
I did, however, find the first four chapters a bit hard going. Alexandra weaves a lot of her story into this part of the book, titled “Make peace with your past”. I appreciated her honesty, but I often felt bogged down by comparisons and word pictures. While they helped drive the point home, the writing strayed into redundancy sometimes, which clouded the train of thought.
The second and third sections of the book, “Break free from offense” and “Move forward with God”, are more practical and easier to follow. I have to highlight chapter seven, “Take back your identity”, which focuses on who we are in Christ. It was a very helpful section, especially when Alexandra broke down the different personalities we adopt in life, often unknowingly. She also showed how they can be countered when we are free in Christ and secure in our knowledge of who we are in Him. This is my favourite of many quotable quotes in this chapter:
“Jesus sits with me and whispers words that begin to heal all the offenses I’ve been carrying around my entire life, the things I’ll never hear an ‘I’m sorry’ for. And it seems as if He whispers, ‘I’ve made amends for you. So many amends. I love you.’ ”
Many reviewers have noted how important this book’s message is, because it applies to everyone. None of us is immune to offense. We all carry stuff we shouldn’t. There are big and little offenses, and the small ones quickly become monsters if unaddressed. It’s so easy to live offended and remain blissfully unaware of it.
I agree that living free and unoffended forms an integral part of our Christian walk. Like so many other Biblical basics (“Love your neighbour as yourself”), we fail miserably at this one. That’s why we need books like You Can Let Go to remind (and re-remind) us of the freedom we have in Christ. Of a different, easier, lighter way of life.
While this is a vital message, it is also simple. Like the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not difficult and doesn’t need to be explained with a concordance. So while I am very grateful for You Can Let Go, I do wonder if some of it could have been streamlined. I felt the repetition detracted from the beautifully simple heart of this book.
I still recommend this as important reading for anyone wanting to grow in their relationship with God and others. Despite a culture that loves to be offended about everything, there is another way. The Lord’s way. And thank God for using Alexandra to guide us in living that out.
October 20, 2025
You Can Let Go is a comprehensive book for thinking through the impact of offense as Hoover shares her journey. You don’t have to understand it immediately; you can ease into engaging and use the space she creates to identify your own pain issues and personal approach to a life of taking offense. A life of making pain your identity. This book is scripture-based, with spiritual “watering holes” throughout the book to stop and rest upon God’s word. Hoover’s personal journey shows us just how deep our thought life reaches into our soul to own it. Until we submit to letting God define it.
How the reader is brought into her story is organic, and I find myself understanding better how a person settles into pain as their identity. The “value” draw for me, personally is this: I have a hard time being compassionate with people who stay in a negative spiral. When Hoover explored “pressing into the pain” I gained a wider lens, and a deeper perspective, about how people can treat pain like a pumice that paradoxically keeps them from healing. It’s not something I naturally dwell on. That’s not to say I didn’t personally benefit from the “taking offense” perspective Hoover unpacks. We all take offense. It’s human nature to do so. And offense is a horrendous stall from a more productive spiritual life with God.
Hoover brings the reader to a decision crossroad, what needs to happen to commit to letting go of pain and offense; and, how to sustain commitment through the freedom of living “from” the love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am recommending this book to friends in book clubs and those in my life who may benefit from taking this heartfelt, organic journey. Through Hoover’s experiences into a deeper understanding of their own relationship with pain, offense, and their identity.
How the reader is brought into her story is organic, and I find myself understanding better how a person settles into pain as their identity. The “value” draw for me, personally is this: I have a hard time being compassionate with people who stay in a negative spiral. When Hoover explored “pressing into the pain” I gained a wider lens, and a deeper perspective, about how people can treat pain like a pumice that paradoxically keeps them from healing. It’s not something I naturally dwell on. That’s not to say I didn’t personally benefit from the “taking offense” perspective Hoover unpacks. We all take offense. It’s human nature to do so. And offense is a horrendous stall from a more productive spiritual life with God.
Hoover brings the reader to a decision crossroad, what needs to happen to commit to letting go of pain and offense; and, how to sustain commitment through the freedom of living “from” the love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am recommending this book to friends in book clubs and those in my life who may benefit from taking this heartfelt, organic journey. Through Hoover’s experiences into a deeper understanding of their own relationship with pain, offense, and their identity.
October 21, 2025
This book is a wonderful resource and teaching tool on the topic of forgiveness. Every chapter presents a lesson learned by the author and imparts knowledge to equip the reader to not only learn life lessons but to learn how to forgive offenders. Alexandra Hoover (the author) talks about being trapped in the prison of offense. Her journey reminds me of the song "Forgiveness" by Matthew West. The lyrics to that song talk about a person being trapped in offense and eventually realizing that they are like a prisoner. However, that person learns that when they choose to forgive people who hurt them then they are set free. And that is the essence of Alexandra's book: Learning to forgive so you can let go and make peace with your past, be free from offense and move forward with God. Her message has challenged me on personal levels and encouraged me to actively let go and forgive. I believe this book will impact the hearts and minds of the people who read it today and in the future.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews