Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.

Published testimonies from Christians who have same-sex attractions are nothing too unusual. However, "Out of a Far Country" has a big difference, it consists of TWO people's testimonies - one of the prodigal son and one of the always-welcoming mother. What makes this approach interesting is that every chapter alternates between the testimony and point of view of the son (Christopher Yuan) and his mother (Angela Yuan). So you're literally seeing the story unfold from 2 people's point of view - each coming from their own perspective, giving us essentially 2 sides of the same story. Layered on top of that, you get to see the unique personal struggles of both Christopher and Angela - both of them struggled with very different things, and how God worked on Christopher through his journey with same sex attractions, addictions, high-flying LGBT lifestyle and drugs, while Angela struggled with her son's rejection of her love, her son's homosexuality, her strained marriage and her broken past. It's a book filled with the full range of human emotions and God's work in turning them both from unbelief to belief, from hopelessness to hope and from death to life. What really struck me about this book is how well-written and well-articulated it is. The writing is refined, it's not crass, it flows extremely well chapter-to-chapter. When reading it, I felt the pain, desperation, turning points and joy that both Christopher and Angela experienced. The descriptions were so vivid that it felt as if I was present at the dining table with Angela, at the dining table with Chris and family, at the train station with Angela, at the parties then in jail with Chris, and at the prayer room with Angela, and so on. Because Christopher and Angela Yuan have both gone through so much in their lives, there is so much to follow in the book and it kept me reading literally non-stop. Every chapter spurred me on to read "just one more chapter" because I was keen to find out what happened to them next. Furthermore, because each chapter is quite short, I end up reading a good number of chapters on each sitting! And every chapter feels different and interesting. Because it comes from two angles, it made this book twice as touching and impactful for me. I found myself cheering for Angela, for Leon (Christopher's father) and of course, Chris himself. It is a modern real-life tale of the prodigal son and long-suffering parents... and a long-suffering God, who loved them all so much that He gave His Son for them all, and saved the Yuan's entire family. I said there was a sting in the end and the sting is this: I felt a bit sad at the end because Christopher indicated that he continues to live with the reality of HIV, and so he must continue to monitor himself - and there may come a point in time he may have to actually start taking medication to treat it. That said, it is so good to see how God had completely turned the Yuan family's lives around - especially Christopher, when he could've been dead countless times! Highly recommended.

Thank you Christopher and Angela Yuan for writing this amazing book. It is difficult to read, because Christopher had a tumultuous and arduous life spent in rebellion. There was a lot of (seeming) freedom and pleasure, but that's the empty show of the Devil: glittering, but utterly empty and ending in destruction. Reading the book opened my eyes to the struggles he faced when he was living as a homosexual, and how hard he worked to overcome same sex attraction to live a holy life. It has shown me how I can be compassionate and loving towards individuals struggling with same sex attraction. And that we are all sinners, redeemed by the blood of Christ. Reading of the pain and struggle Angela and Christopher faced truly opened my eyes to the power of prayer and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. The chapter on holy sexuality is amazing, and I will next buy his book on this. Lastly, Christopher speaks boldly on his realization that the Bible does not condone homosexuality. If you want to read something which is unpreachable in the Catholic church and many churches, read Romans chapter 1. The Mass readings on October 12, 2021, cut out the verses at the end which speak on homosexuality. This is no accident. I wish Christopher could speak at my parish - the Catholic church struggles immensely with an embedded culture of homosexuality in the seminaries and the greater Church. Christopher's testimony is greatly needed here! God bless you, Christopher and Angela! Your testimony is beautiful and I am truly blessed to have read it.

Uniquely written by both mother and son in alternating chapters, this is a gripping true story of Gods grace and mercy. Riddled by fleshly desires, he became captive to the world, to open sin, but by the power of prayer he found himself empty and open to reading the Bible. Ultimately finding his sinful desires unsatisfying he gave his life to Christ. Compelling. Raw. Real. A must read for anyone who wants to see the power of Gods redemption at work.

I have heard of the youtube and facebook speaking engagements of C. Yuan but the detailed account in this memoir is even more compelling. I love the interchanging format of accounts of both authors (mother and son). Many times I was caught crying and praising through the pages of this book. I was just in awe how God can see through everything. How His ways are higher than ours, his plan for us to have good future. To have not fear, to believe in His words and His timing. Christopher talk about the holy sexuality and talk about his struggle about his sexuality and his diagnosis of HIV. The mercy and love and faithfulness of God was elevated with every page of this book. I highly recommend it.

This book combines the personal accounts of Christopher Yuan, who looked for fulfilment in his gay identity, and his mother, Angela Yuan, who found herself considering suicide after Christopher 'came out.' It details how Angela met God and gave her life to Jesus Christ, and then gave all her energy to praying for her aon and offering him every kindness in soite if the choices he was making. After nearly 8 years of fasting and praying for Christopher, he finally reaxhed the point where he too met Jesus. Christopher shares his personal story, including how he concluded, through his own study of the Bible, that 'holy sexuality' would not allow for him to express his homosexual desires. Change, for Christophr (and I agree) is not the absence of struggle, but the freedom to choose in the midst of struggle. Whether you have an interest in prayer, love a good memoir, or are looking for a biblical explanation of a Christian position on 'holy sexuality,' this book is well worth the read. It includes a full complement of small group questions if you wanted to interact with the book with others.

So this book provided a lot of comfort. For a topic that feels like a taboo to discuss n the difficulty that goes with sharing your personal experience. I believe this book handles this issue with the openness it deserves, the grace needed for the journey, the strength of a loved one never giving on the Truth of God’s word n the love, joy n renewed hope of seeing a loved one restored by the power of the Holy Spirit Just want to add thank you for sharing your experience which provides strength n courage under immense pressure for those dealing with this reality One of the reviews I read before I book this book noted ‘they could not put the book dosn’ I completely agree with this as I also found I could not put the book down Highly recommend this book

There is so much in this story What a powerful journey for the entire family and a message of the transforming miraculous grace of Jesus Christ Amazing and wonderfully written

LGBTは生まれつきジェンダーなのかという疑問を持ってる人達に読んでみた方がいいと思う。