Out Of A Far Country

I just finished reading Out Of A Far Country by Christopher and Angela Yuan. To be completely honest, I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book and selected it someone reluctantly, thinking I probably wouldn't like it very much. However, I was definitely proven wrong! The story got my attention from the very first page and I just had to keep reading, wanting to know the whole story of this prodigal mother and son.

This book has a somewhat unorthodox format, alternating chapters between Christopher and Angela's first-person viewpoint. I quickly adapted to the style and actually rather enjoyed hearing the story from both viewpoints back and forth. This is a story of a gay man and his mother trying to get him to accept Christ, however, it is much more than that. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it is a touching, heartwarming story of a prodigal mother and a prodigal son both finding Christ.

My only complaint with this book is that although it detailed Angela and her husband Leon's salvation, Christopher's salvation is completely glossed over and no detail is given whatsoever. In one chapter he is completely against Christ and in the next chapter he's now reading his Bible, attending daily chapel services in prison, and even teaching a Bible study. I don't doubt his conversion at all; I just wish he had taken this great opportunity to detail how exactly he converted from a prodigal homosexual to a passionate Christian. An outline of the plan of salvation (either in the story or as an appendix) would have been nice as well, for anyone unsaved reading the book and wanting to know how to get saved.

Overall, this was an absolutely excellent book and I highly recommend it. It made me think about homosexuality and Christianity in a way I never had before, and gives me more motivation to be a witness to homosexual relatives and friends rather than giving them up as a "lost cause" as is sometimes thought.

I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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