Mother and son offer hope in the wake of 'out of the closet' disclosure

Christopher Yuan lived the life of a prodigal, and his mother, Angela, nearly did the unthinkable after he came "out of the closet." The two tell their story in Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.

At 16, Christopher sought out a sexual encounter with an older man. When his parents found out, they hoped he was going through a phase, but his same-sex attraction persisted. Later, his parents happened across a porn video he had hidden, and his mother gave him an ultimatum.

"I thought that ultimatum would turn him around or wake him up, so my ultimatum to him was to choose the family or choose homosexuality, but Christopher had already bought into the lie, so he said, 'If you cannot accept me, I have no other choice but to leave,' and without any hesitation, Christopher picked up his bags and left," Angela told Christian Retailing.

Angela and her husband, Leon, were Chinese immigrants living an upper middle class life in a Chicago suburb. Christopher was in his third year at dental school, but after his confession, he went deeper into the gay lifestyle and school became less of a priority.

"All I wanted to focus on was my friends and the gay community, going out to bars, partying," he said. "Eventually I began doing drugs, and when the drug life kind of took over, I began selling drugs as well. I was finally expelled from dental school just three months before I was about to receive my doctorate."

With Christopher's admission, Angela hit a low point. "It was worse than receiving news of Christopher's death, and I fell to the floor in shock and anguish," she said.

Feeling that her husband refused to stand by her and that Christopher had betrayed her, she decided to contact a minister, who met with her and gave her a pamphlet about homosexuality.

With plans to end her life, she bought a one-way train ticket to say her final goodbye to Christopher. Reading the pamphlet on the train, Angela sensed God meeting her at her point of need.

"I realized that just as God loved me in spite of my sin, I could love Christopher in spite of his sin as a homosexual," she said. "So when I was sitting on the train … suddenly I just heard a still small voice that (said), 'You belong to me.' "

After a federal drug raid of his home, Christopher was sentenced to six years in prison—where he met Jesus and learned that he was HIV-positive. 

"I think that was maybe the final thing that God used to put me down," he said.

Angela's advice to parents of prodigal children is to "pray and fast unceasingly and never ever, ever give up," but tough love is also necessary. "We have to be willing to submit to His Lordship and be willing to do whatever He tells us to do," she added.

The book includes a foreword by Kay Warren. In support of the release, marketing efforts include a social media campaign and a blogger campaign.

To order, call 800-733-3000.

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