Moses unchained

by Marilyn F. Moriarty

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. He 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, she has told his story here.