All-American boy

the long version

All-American Boy is a compelling story, a beautifully written account of the relationship between a father and son - their fourteen-year estrangement and their ultimate reconciliation. Scott Peck was thrust into the public eye when his father, Marine Colonel Fred Peck, startled the nation with his Senate testimony that he had just learned that his son was gay, and that while he loved his son, he would be loath to see him in the military because of fear of what might happen to him. Scott immediately became the subject of enormous media attention as he eloquently spoke about his own sexuality, his family, and much else. Here is his story, recalling a terrifying childhood in the home of a violently abusive stepfather and the tragic death of an adored and vibrant mother at the age of thirty-seven. It is the testimony of a young man slated for a career as a fundamentalist minister - the quintessential All-American boy - who comes to terms with his own sexuality and the father who had abandoned him. A portrait of two polar opposites - the professional soldier and his outspoken son - it is a powerful and personal document, harrowing and lyrical, the debut of a brilliant young writer whose true story, written with a novelist's flair, is an unforgettable portrait of courage and of forgiveness.