After a tortured childhood and years of soul-searching, Brooke Morrison has finally settled into a comfortable life. While his sexuality prohibits him from practicing his degree in youth ministry in a church setting, he’s found a fulfilling job as a youth counselor at a residential treatment facility in Colorado. He falls in love, marries the man of his dreams, and makes peace with God. He’s happy.
Then his buried past drags him back to the Ozarks.
The life Brooke has worked so hard to build is crumbling in his hands in the face of painful memories and past abuse, and his confidence is withering. In El Dorado Springs, where his nightmares come to life, Brooke desperately seeks closure life doesn’t offer. Brooke must find value in himself, in his marriage, and in the world around him—and create the hope and perseverance to keep his past from swallowing him whole.
Kimi’s thoughts:
I’m going to start off first by stating that this is NOT a romance. It’s LGBT fiction, and while it does have a relationship within it, it is not the focus of the story. It is in fact, a difficult read.
Brooke comes from a devout Christian background and has reconciled his sexual orientation and personal faith. He’s grown up hearing all the hellfire and brimstone that is typical of evangelical faiths, and has faced the consequences of being true to himself and coming from such a background. When he has to return to the Ozarks, he’s thrust back into the social circle of the church he grew up within, and it takes it toll. Boy, does it ever, for despite the efforts of the new preacher, some prejudices are deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Some so deeply that it obliterates everything else, including the love they should have for their own child.
Mr. Witt has written a powerful story that works on so many levels- exposing hatred and prejudice for the soul destroying cancers that they are. He’s shone a light on the darkest corners of the Christian faith, and it’s not pretty what we find hiding there. Despite this, it is not a condemnation of faith- just the evil that people often conceal behind it.The story digs its claws in and no matter how distressing the experience we share vicariously with Brooke as we read, we can’t look away. I often had to put this down to take a break, but I couldn’t simply step away. I kept processing it. This book made me smile. It also broke my heart into a million pieces. I laughed, and I ugly cried so hard that my eyes burned.
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