OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY by CHRISTOPHER YUAN AND ANGELA YUAN

Title: Out of the Far Country
Author: Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (May 3, 2011)
Pages: 240

I came across OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY by CHRISTOPHER YUAN AND ANGELA YUAN on Amazon. I was intrigued, and wanted to get a better understanding of what a gay man goes through, as well as his parents. Discovering Christianity was involved, sealed the deal.

OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY sat on my bookshelf for months. While at a meeting at church, a man that joined our group mention a book a friend of his wrote that may be of interest, seeing we were involved in the prison and jail ministry. The title he mentioned sounded familiar, along with the author. When I returned home I rushed to my bookshelf to see if it were indeed the same book, and to my delight it was.

The very next day I began to read OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY. Each morning I read a chapter out of my Bible, a chapter of non-fiction, and fiction throughout the day. OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY is like no other non-fiction I can recall reading. I couldn’t put it down. It’s probably the faster I’ve read a non-fiction book.

Christopher Yuan had a secret, one he’d been carrying around for some time. When he decided to reveal that secret, that he’s gay, his mother shows him the door.

Angela Yuan loves her son, but being gay… Her first instinct is to give him an ultimatum. Be straight or get out. Angela was consumed with depression, disappointment, and sense of hopelessness. With every intention of ending her life, she sets out to say her good-byes to her son.

OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY is a quick, easy read that is well written. One you will have a hard time putting down. I loved going from Christopher’s point-of-view to Angela’s. I even learned something new about an old song.

This book is several stories in one:
A gay mans journey in life.
A mother’s journey with a gay son.
A journey through addictions.
A journey through imprisonment.
A redemption of a marriage.
The journey of faithless to faithfulness.

I highly recommend OUT OF A FAR COUNTRY to everyone, whether you know someone who is gay, you are, or aren’t a Christian, you know someone that’s incarcerated, you know someone that has little hope in their marriage, or someone with an addiction. This is a true story of hope and redemption.

My hope is that people will pickup and read this book despite…or maybe because of, the gay aspect.