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Rating: 
Summary: Good Bio...
Review:
I picked this book up off the street. Literally, off the street. I've always thought it was a crime to throw away books, no matter how old, so I saved this one. The cover was ripped off, but the intro was still there. I couldn't believe I was reading a book about a gay man turned straight through belief in Christ. This was one of the worst things I've ever heard of.
This is an easy read, as it's one of those celebrity autobiographies written with the 'help' of a real author. It's pretty sad that Paulk attributed his unhappiness in life to his sexuality, and never analyzed his orientation through his own wants and needs, and not through the perspective of someone else. Unfortunately, God and Jesus don't want you to be soemthing you're not. And while you can convert to Christianity, there is no way to convert the sexuality with which you were born. It can be a struggle to define and come to terms with your true nature, and the strength you gain from religion can help you in this quest, but accepting the love of God will not reverse your sexual polarity if you're gay. God's love can give you the strength to discover your true self, but it will not make you straight if you're gay. You can cover it up, you can pretend, and you can deny it, but the truth is a person's true sexual tastes are designed from birth, whether they lay in brain or spirit makes little difference.
In John's own words: "Growing up, I heard it all...sissy, queer, fag. Naturally, I believed I was born gay." Perhaps he was. Most people have an idea of their orientation before they have a practical knowledge of sexual attraction. Perhaps if we lived in a culture in which people were accepted regardless of their tastes, John would never have been tormented like that.
John was a gay drag queen and sometimes prostitute. In his book, he says that the queer identity drove him into depression and drug abuse, and that he was not relieved of these symptoms until he became straight. So, John was a depressed queer who was really straight. It can take years to understand your own sexual identity, and if John is happy as a straight man, then I'm all for him. But what he repeats in his book is that gay men and women who are unhappy can and should be converted to heterosexuality through Christianity.
Well, I'm glad John found his true calling in life, but the fact is most homos are stable people who are happy with their sexuality and wish people would just accept the way they are. Just like straights, queers have a wide variety of personalities. Not every gay guy is a drag queen prostitute, in fact most of them are straight-wristed and deep of voice, and they're attracted to other men. Before we start looking for the 'cure' for this, perhaps we should ask why it's wrong?
It's great John found what makes him happy sexually, but this book basically says the answer to a gay person's lifestyle is for them to accept Jesus and turn straight through his love. This does so much disservice to Christ, and gay people, that I almost couldn't finish this book. For one, it turns gay people who have no interest in 'turning' off from Christ's love. They end up seeing Jesus used as an anti-gay device, when in fact Jesus loves everyone regardless of their orientation, and isn't worried in the slightest about those who are attracted to the same sex.
Also, this book's message is downright harmful to gays who are indesicive or depressed about their lifestyle, in that it attempts to convince them that they can change if they believe. Devotion to Christ will not change your identity. You can only reveal your own identity through hard work and deliberation. There have likely been more gay suicides because of the fact that they couldn't change than there were gay conversions through Christ. Convincing someone that their sexuality is a personal sin and that they can change if they only truly believe is dangerous. Because of this, I can't support the views in this book. If anything, John Paulk should support people to try understand their sexuality, whether straight or gay, and come to terms with it in healthy ways.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating -- could not put the book down.
Review: I have not yet met John, but am related to him by marriage. My sister is John's step mother. I recently visited my sister and his father and had a chance to meet some of John's relatives. While there, John's father gave me his copy of John's book to read. I could not put it down, staying up late for two evenings to finish it.
John's story is told with a frankness I've seldom seen. He is candid in sharing his feelings and activities. We see John progress from homosexual to escort, to drag queen, to change program participant, to counselor to husband and father. All along the way, he continues to search for unconditional acceptance and a love which will never leave him. His self-searching and honest appraisal of his inner feelings reveals the emptiness of the life he was leading. I shed tears many times during my reading of this book. While the main focus is on him finding God's will for his life, John's story is also one of relationship healing. I was especially moved by the way he described the progress of establishing a close relationship with his father after his parents divorced while John was very young. As a father myself, I can relate to the desire for closeness between a father and son. He also recounts the same kind of relationship rebuilding with his mother. Perhaps I'm a bit old fashioned, but I enjoy happy endings. Whatever you might think about the causes of homosexuality and your religious preferences, I think you will enjoy this story as it describes one person's search for happiness and fulfillment. I highly recommend this book and am purchasing extra copies to give to my son and my friends. William A. Cox
Rating: 
Summary: Not Afraid to Change : The Remarkable Story of How One Man
Review: I suppose what's most interesting to me about this book, apart from Mr. Paulk's own hypocrisy as revealed when he was removed from the leadership position of Exodus, is the fact that he seems to ignore his own holy book's words about sinning in the heart being the same as sinning in the body. If he truly believed that God found the concept of homosexuality wrong, then not exercising it -- yet still entertaining the notion -- is wrong as well. By his own standards, he'd have been better off getting brainwashed ala A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. In any event, this book is, more than anything, a very sad read.
Rating:
Summary: A moving, true-life gay romance with a twist!
Review: If you're gay, lesbian, bi, trans-(sexual or vestite) you owe it to yourself to read "Not Afraid to Change," if only just for laughs. Don't be put off by the "religious right" baggage with which the publishers larded the opening and close (which Paulk didn't write) -- especially the insulting to gays "intro." Inside is a sensuously-written story you'll enjoy, by and about a man searching for constant and abiding gay love, with all the lavishness, flourishes, zippy wit and adventures you expect to find in a gay romance novel -- but with an incredible twist to boot. Warning: Some gay people who've read this book have said they think they'll never be the same. Straights who've dared to read it say it's changed them forever, too -- some say they'll never again hate another gay person. Read it under the covers by flashlight if you must; read it on the john past midnight if you think your lover might disapprove. One thing's for sure; you'll never have read anything like it (and you may never want to read anything like it again). Afterwards write your own review -- in tears or while gnashing your teeth. I dare you!
Rating: 
Summary: Before you read this book, consider the following...
Review: John Paulk is not afraid to change his homosexuality. He is just plain unable to, as evidenced by his September 2000 visit to a gay bar in Washington, D.C. The ex-gay movement is in need of a spokesman who practices what he preaches.
Rating:
Summary: Sad Endings
Review: Mr. Paulk's book is remarkable in light of his return to a gay bar in Washington, DC., where someone took his photograph in the men's room. Perhaps his salvation simply did not "take."
Rating:
Summary: Sad Endings
Review: Mr. Paulk's book is remarkable in light of his return to a gay bar in Washington, DC., where someone took his photograph in the men's room. Perhaps his salvation simply did not "take."
Rating:
Summary: Hypocrisy.
Review: This is one of the best ex-gay books I've ever read. If you want to read an ex-gay book without a lotta bible verses, then this is the one for you. After reading this book, you will be able to understand the hows and whys of ex-gays and the ex-gay community, in general. The most active form of homophobia is reserved against gays when they attempt to exit the lifestyle -- they are almost always universally condemned by both straights and gays. Read this book and you won't feel intolerance against ex-gays anymore cos it helps you understand why some gays want to leave.
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