A little more than 20 years ago my daughter April was taken on a date by a young man from Iowa named James Ballou. He wasn't a member of the church and Sharon and I were a little concerned. We didn't know it at the time but this young man had a number of challenges that he faced and there were a series of unfortunate circumstances that led him to Utah. Since that time he joined the church and married my daughter in the Salt Lake Temple and together they have four sons.
James grew up in poverty and his mother abandoned the family when he was three. His father was a violent man that was heavily involved in drugs and needless to say it was a difficult upbringing. James has published a book about his interaction with the church and his eventual conversion and the book is called Soul Survivor. In the book he explains how he dealt with the pain from his living conditions with his father and how he ultimately came to know God.
He is having a contest to give away five signed copies of the book and he wanted to open the contest up to as many people as possible. The details for the contest are on his web site, www.jamesballou.com and I recommend that each of you enter the contest or buy a copy for yourselves or someone that you know could benefit from it. Send him an email if you have any questions: jaballou@comcast.net.
