Missionary

Elder Dylan Gray enters the Missionary Training Center with one goal: to become the kind of young man God, his family, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expect him to be.He has already lied once — in his final worthiness interview, about a kiss with another boy — but the mission is supposed to fix that. Two years of obedience. Two years of service. Two years to bury whatever part of himself still longs for the love he should not want.What Dylan does not expect is Elder Jacobsen, the companion assigned to share his room, his schedule, his prayers, and the strange intimacy of missionary life. Nor is Dylan prepared for Elder Bromley, whose irreverence and dangerous honesty threaten to pull Dylan toward the very truth he came to the MTC to escape.As the days unfold, Dylan's faith begins to buckle beneath the pressure of temptation, secrecy, and the growing fear that what he feels may not be something God intends to take away.Written in journal form and inspired by real experiences, Missionary is a queer coming-of-age novel about religious devotion, forbidden intimacy, and the painful distance between being forgiven and being known. Set in the charged isolation of the MTC, it begins in the proverbial garden and ends with a question Dylan can no longer avoid: what if it is not good for man to be alone?The first book in a planned series. For readers of literary autofiction, queer religious-deconstruction narratives, and emotionally charged coming-of-age fiction. Contains mature themes, including sexuality, religious identity, and faith crisis.