Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. [Kindle Edition] Author: Christopher Yuan | Language: English | ISBN:
B004J4WK7E | Format: PDF, EPUB
Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. Epub Free
Download Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. [Kindle Edition] Epub Free for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link Coming Out, Then Coming Home
Christopher Yuan, the son of Chinese immigrants, discovered at an early age that he was different. He was attracted to other boys. As he grew into adulthood, his mother, Angela, hoped to control the situation. Instead, she found that her son and her life were spiraling out of control—and her own personal demons were determined to defeat her.
Years of heartbreak, confusion, and prayer followed before the Yuans found a place of complete surrender, which is God’s desire for all families. Their amazing story, told from the perspectives of both mother and son, offers hope for anyone affected by homosexuality.
God calls all who are lost to come home to him. Casting a compelling vision for holy sexuality, Out of a Far Country speaks to prodigals, parents of prodigals, and those wanting to minister to the gay community.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” - Luke 15:20
Includes a discussion guide for personal reflection and group use.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Books with free ebook downloads available Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. [Kindle Edition] Epub Free
- File Size: 599 KB
- Print Length: 242 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0307729354
- Publisher: WaterBrook Press (May 3, 2011)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004J4WK7E
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,929 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #3
in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Parenting & Families - #5
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Gay & Lesbian - #8
in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Chinese
- #3
in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Parenting & Families - #5
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Gay & Lesbian - #8
in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Chinese
In this joint memoir, mother Angela Yuan and son Christopher Yuan alternate chapters in describing Chris' prodigal son experiences, in parallel with Angela's experiences as a mother moving from suicidal depression to Christian community, along with hope and prayer for her still-troubled son. Their voices trade off as describe Chris' early successes in grad school, his growing identification with the gay community and embrace of a partying lifestyle, and his movement into success as a drug dealer. His crash when busted and jailed, along with his mothers' prayers and involvement, leads to his conversion to Christianity and eventual role as a prison minister. Now, it seems, he and his mother speak at Christian events about his transformation, a role which I assume has produced this book.
I got this review copy for free from WaterBrook Multnomah (full disclosure!), and was initially quite skeptical and concerned with how the book would portray homosexuality. Because the book is written within the conservative Christian social field, it probably will not be appreciated by liberal or secular readers. But for its intended audience, it strikes the right note. Addressing this social issue with both grace and truth has been a difficult issue for the American church, and it would be easy to turn this story into a polemic about sexual identity and the church.
But the Yuans, in general, refrain. While their story clearly fits within the cultural genre of "Christian testimony" (with overtones of Augustine's confessions as well as an identification with the specific trope of the prodigal son, moving from pride to fall to faith to restoration), it is well-handled, emotive, and lovely -- a good example of the genre.
On January 16 I attended a Chicago area seminar titled: "A Conference on Faith and Sexuality." The topic was same-sex relationships and the church. The host church invited four speakers to give biblical and theological presentations. The speakers clearly held widely different perspectives. The last of the four speakers was Christopher Yuan. Since I did not know Chris at the time I as not prepared to be moved to my depths by his story of a life of homosexual practice and drug dealing followed by a powerful conversion to Jesus Christ. After three years in prison, an HIV-positive blood test result, and an obvious transformation in Christ, Chris entered his new Christian lifestyle, a lifestyle that has been tested and proven for some years now. Our of a Far Country is a unique book in so many ways but one of the most unique aspects is that it is the story as told by both Chris and his mother, Angela. This means parents will be especially grateful for insights they can gain on how to respond to a prodigal child.
Christopher Yuan is one of two sons of Chinese immigrants. His father, as my father was in his professional career, is a dentist. Angela assisted Dr. Yuan in his dental practice. Chris' dad had a nominal Catholic background but Angela was an atheist. Chris was thus raised in a context without the church or any real expressions of faith around him. At an early age Chris discovered that he had an attraction to other boys. He tried dating girls but still felt strongly attracted to guys. His mother was, in her own testimony a "controlling mom." The more she tried to control her own life, and that of her son Chris, the worse things got in the Yuan family. Then Chris returned to Chicago from dental school in Louisville, Kentucky, and "came out of the closet" about his sexuality.
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