Monday, July 9, 2012

Story Recommendation

A Voice In The Wilderness m/m
This is a short novella length m/m original fiction story which can be read for free. The story is set in Atlanta, and is about David, the choir detector for a Spanish speaking congregation, and Isaiah son of a minster, lay minster and church organist. The two meet and become friends over their shared work as church musicians.

On the one hand it is a lovely well written love story between two incredibly sweet and generally wonderful individuals. On the other hand it was one of the best fictionalized descriptions of what it is like to be an LGBTQ lay minister or devout Christian I have ever read. Some places this story was heartbreaking in others funny and all around uplifting. The author was wise and extremely impressive in the fact that they chose to have both characters come from the conservative side of moderate Christian background. Huge role that religion and the church played in both characters' lives felt so really and right to me.

I am myself a gay lay minster, I am also the child of a lay minister and sister to a, soon to be ordained, member of the clergy. Everything about this story, from the running of an aging, low income church to being both gay and devoted to God rang true to me and my experience. I worried to the end of the story that it would fall into one of the two age old narratives for being religious and being gay neither of which constitute a happy ending and neither of which I have (thankfully) experienced. For the first time ever though the author chose instead the third option the one I myself have lived through and I can't even describe how happy that made me.

I highly recommend this story.

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