I am an avid book reader. There are books that capture me from the first sentence and are hard to put down. Joe Dallin’s “Perfect” is one of them. Part of the reason is that I met the author many years ago in Portland through a mutual friend of ours attending our first Affirmation conference. Also, I have enjoyed Joe’s email travelogues of his world travel adventures. He is an excellent writer and this book is more proof of it.
Joe was born into a heritage of deep Mormon roots and was named after the first Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith. He lived in the predominantly Mormon populated Utah.
On the surface, he looked like your typical born and bred Mormon Utah boy. He even went on a mission for the church and and had a girl waiting to marry him when he returned home.
Beneath the surface, he was a young man who struggled with same sex attraction and the jaunting weight of a Church that taught that homosexuality was one of the most vile of sins.
Whether you are Mormon or not, the struggle that Joe goes through, that is described and brought to life in his book, is a story that every human being who has had to deny their true self can relate to at every emotional touch point.
The importance of faith and his feverish attempts through prayer to change is so monumental considering how long and how young he was when he took on his battle.
His love for his family and his honesty about the pain and the eventual growth in their relationship is searingly and refreshingly honest. His book is a testament to a family of faith giving in to love to guide them to understanding.
Author Joe Dallin
Joe’s journey was especially touching to me. Our coming out process was different in ways. I came out of a marriage. I was a Mormon convert. However, there were many things that were similar.
The internal, bitter struggles between the desire to change and the struggle with faith as he described it, I could have written with my own hands.
I also broke down in tears when he spoke about the point in his life where ending it seem like the only option. I have been to that dark place. I wept because being part of that alumni of hopelessness shows how far this self hate can go when we believe the messages given to us by society.
I also can relate to his discovery and epiphany of being loved for who he was inside. He was not a mistake. His same sex attraction was a beautiful part of his person and he had every right to his happiness. He was able to find a partner that he loves and is with him today.
The story is a love story about Joe loving who Joe is totally and completely. It is the most beautiful kind of love story that every human being can find and experience.
It is a coming out story. It is a love story. It is pure inspiration.
Note: To order Joe’s book, ” Perfect” Please visit the following link :
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