Moses Unchained: Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction Ser.

A powerful, challenging, and unforgettable book, this is the deeply moving true story of a modern outlaw's struggle with faith, betrayal, and the accidental nature of life. A contemporary tragedy with as many twists and turns as the Blue Ridge mountain highways where it takes place, Moses Unchained shows the internal and social struggle of an inspired, ostracized man to make his life meaningful.

Zack Rosen was a simple man, but one of many contrasts. An urban Jew from New Jersey who moved south and converted to fundamentalist Christianity, he was not a philosopher or theologian but a man's man, a tattooed truck driver who built a classic Harley-Davidson from spare parts. In Florida he met and married Shelley, another converted Jew, but their happiness was brief. After they moved to Virginia, secrets from Shelley's past came back to haunt them, and her sudden death from pneumonia revealed a shocking fact: she had AIDS, and she had given the virus to Zack.

Suddenly faced with the loss of his family, his job, his income, and eventually his own life, Zack became an itinerant evangelist. Both blinded and illuminated by his faith, he lived without bitterness or hatred. His nobility and courage transcended the particulars of his existence, encapsulating the human condition at its most vulnerable. Zack introduced himself to author Marilyn F. Moriarty in 1993 with the words. "I got an honorable testimony". She listened to his story and became his friend and caregiver. At his request, his story is told here.