Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God by Christopher Yuan is the autobiography of one man's struggle to understand his identity in light of coming out as a homosexuality. The debate of whether a person is “born gay” or not is an extremely sensitive one in our culture, and it blurs more than gender expectations. Sexuality, and its worship, has transformed our culture into an animalistic one in many arenas. Sane voices which attempt to speak to the issue of homosexuality are often screamed out rather than appreciated or soberly considered.

Out of a Far Country is a story of one family’s experience with homosexuality and a life gone rogue. Angela Yuan and her son Christopher have co-written their account of Chris’ coming out and subsequent embrace of a lifestyle bent on self-destruction.

It’s not the story of a typical family that finds a child has not lived up to their expectations. But it is a story that will connect with many. At times, I felt that the publication of this book is another example of "extreme testimony." In many ways, it's a modern day example of the parable of the prodigal son. I always hesitate to promote extremes because they're not indicative of most people's experience, and they tend to magnify the past rather than the present.

Honestly, the best part of the book is the last three chapters as you get to finally hear Christopher process his conversion to Christianity and his reflections on holy sexuality.

"Holy sexuality means focusing all our sexual feelings and behaviors exclusively toward one person, our spouse.

Chris concludes, “The truth is that I did not need to be attracted to women in general to get married; I needed to be attracted to only one woman.”

I’d encourage anyone who is personally experiencing the decision by a family member or friend to choose homosexuality to read this book. The Yaun’s story is compelling and moving.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for more information or theological implications, you’ll need to look elsewhere. This book has very little of that other than some brief reflections.

By the way, I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I’m grateful for their Blogging for Books program.