By Robert Bautner
Born Gay Not Homosexual
Destiny By Design
Born Gay Not Homosexual tells the story of a 10-year-old autistic boy who, after a failed suicide attempt, develops an escape plan. He will someday be a mom, he will own land, and he will be a millionaire. By turning negatives into positives, he makes three promises to himself. His life becomes a journey of keeping those promises. In the midst of it, he encounters God, becomes a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and comes to the most unexpected conclusion of all: he frees himself from the desires that had held him captive since he was a child.
Expected September 2026
A JOURNEY OF MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS
Bestselling author Robert Bautner has spent a lifetime wrestling with that question.
For anyone who has ever wondered whether desires, traumas, or diagnoses have the final word, this book offers a different answer, one rooted in a unique combination of personal agency, pure authenticity, and triumph over circumstances.
His story began with wounds no child should endure. Raised in an environment of physical and emotional abuse, suffering a sexual assault and a suicide attempt at the age of ten, Robert navigated a complex and hostile world as an autistic, nonverbal boy searching for love, safety, and belonging. To survive, he learned to analyze the world around him, even teaching himself to speak.
In the aftermath of his suicide attempt, he made three decisions that became his guide to creating a life worth living. First, he would turn every negative in his life into a positive. Second, he would be a mom someday, one who loved his children and raised them in a home that was secure and safe. Third, he would be a millionaire, a successful businessman who owned land. Underlying all of these was the understanding that he was gay, attracted to men, but committed to not becoming homosexual.
From this beginning, Robert set out on a journey of self-realization, of transformation, and ultimately of fulfillment through his family, his farm, and his faith and eventual membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Born Gay, Not Homosexual is the story of learning to navigate the space between desire and destiny.
Desires are powerful.
Destiny is shaped by who we choose to become.