The Book of Dan: Serving Across the 34th Parallel - Paperback

by Dan Hiland (Author)

Unlike the majority of those fare-welling and snapping photos this chilly pre-Christmas morning at the Salt Lake Mission Home, Dan Hiland is not a lifelong Mormon. Raised a Methodist, his recent decision to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has both blessed his life and perplexed his immediate family. And though he believes he's doing the right thing by serving a mission, that's about all he knows. That, and the fact that he's being sent to South America. An uncomfortable mix of hope, loneliness and uncertainty, Dan wonders how he'll adapt to the rigors of missionary life. What if he doesn't like being a missionary? And how will he learn to speak Spanish? Does he really have to knock doors all day? And just where is Argentina, anyway? By turns hilarious, sad, uplifting, maddening and at times just plain strange, The Book of Dan recounts Elder Hiland's experiences serving a full-time mission in the western half of Argentina. While its citizens battle the effects of runaway inflation, corrupt politicians and a police force running amok, Elder Hiland is waging a few battles of his own. For every success there is a setback. For every slammed door, another one opens. And for every psychotic landlady, flat bike tire or vengeful neighborhood dog, there's growth and increased understanding about the joy that comes from serving others. Before it's over, he'll be a different person: wiser, a trifle more skeptical, but also more like the man he aspires to become. But first he has to survive eight weeks in the Language Training Mission...

Author Biography

Dan is a semi-retired technical writer from NW Oregon. Growing up amidst the rainy strawberry fields and filbert orchards of rural Clackamas County, he developed a strong work ethic shoveling stalls at the family farm, before going off to college in Eastern Oregon. After joining the LDS Church, he served a two-year mission in Western Argentina, then returned home to embark upon an illustrious career as a construction worker, ware-houseman, security guard and furniture mover, all the while going to school long enough to realize his true passion: writing. Married to the lovely and famous Carol Frickey in 1987, they were blessed with three lively and intelligent kids. Employed as a technical writer since the 1990s, Dan attended creative writing courses at Portland Community College and Gotham Writer's Workshop. He's produced a series of lit-zines, a short book on jury duty, scores of unpublishable short stories, and has labored at Scribophile and several other writing websites over the years. A die-hard Hitchcock fan, Dan enjoys binge-watching old TV shows like The Invaders, The Fugitive, and The Prisoner. Addicted to the Library of America book series, Dan's favorite authors are PG Wodehouse, CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, Robert Benchley, Shirley Jackson, and Dashiell Hammett. Dan and Carol currently share their 3300-square foot Rexburg, Idaho home with their two grand-kids, daughter and son-in-law, a very large quilting machine, two rabbits, and a neurotic guinea pig. The Book of Dan is Mr. Hiland's first published work.