Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
AUTHOR: Miski Harris
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 110 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 8, 2018
BLURB:
Staff Sargent Elijah Jackson, EJ to his friends, joined the Air Force hoping for refuge from the mess his life had become. For almost ten years he enjoyed new life, success, and love, in spite of the closet he was forced to hide in by the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy. One day it all comes crashing down around him. Now he’s back home with serious decisions to make and a very short time to decide how to salvage his life while healing his heart.
Betrayed by his lover and partner, Dr. Dale Chenault left California and his fledgling practice behind. In Sayville, he’s found a home for his counseling service, and on the surface, seems to have his life in order. The truth is some of the decisions Dale made have become a stumbling block in his ability to rebuild the breach in his heart and by extension, his life.
When Dale and EJ meet the chemistry between them is hot but the pain of past betrayals is strong, and trust seems impossible to build. Will they be able to move past what has been to create a future together?
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is a story of love, trust, betrayal and second chances with an HEA.
REVIEW:
“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) was an American policy that prohibited personnel from the military and to discriminate or harass against other military personnel who were homosexual or bisexual. Personnel who were LGBTQ+ were forced to hide their true selves while serving.
Denying one’s true self from coming out can be stifling for someone especially if it is because of one’s profession. You could start to resent your job because of it. You could become a loner because you feel that you’re not showing your real self, so what’s the use? And those who took the risk of having relationships during their enlistment period always do so secretly for fear of being found out. It was a hard life.
Elijah or EJ was sent home by his commanding officer when he and his then “secret” boyfriend were found out as having a relationship under the DADT rules. He couldn’t do anything against it so he went home. But he couldn’t tell his parents he is back home without telling them why. It took a determined friend, Teddy, to move things along by having EJ meet Dale, a psychologist who specializes in military personnel going through what EJ is going through, among others.
What followed is a friendship and eventually, a relationship, between two beautiful men who mutually respect each other. But secrets come out. And to his parents, especially his father, when they learn the real reason why things were moving towards discrediting those who wronged EJ.
I love how this lovely story was presented, Ms. Harris has a unique way of presenting it. At first I didn’t find the story compelling because just like Teddy, I didn’t know what had happened to EJ in Japan. But then when Dale entered the picture, things became more interesting. The story line is definitely something new for me, and I love it! This is a story that we all know about and there are lessons to be learned here as well.
RATING: 
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