I have deep midwestern roots in Scandinavian Lutheranism. Raised in Upsala, Minnesota, in the heart of Lake Wobegon country, I participated in many activities in my small K-12 school. I truly had a golden childhood.
In the fall of ’66, I matriculated at Dartmouth College. In ’69-70 I served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam, receiving a pair of bronze stars for valor in combat. After discharge, I returned to Dartmouth and obtained my BA degree in ’72 in history.
Then, it was back to Minnesota and law school. I received a JD degree from the University of Minnesota in ’75, and entered the private practice of law in St. Cloud, Minnesota as a civil trial attorney for the next twenty four years, retiring in ’99 to pursue a business opportunity in Caribbean tourism. In the early 90’s, I spent a couple of years, part-time, as a graduate student with the Benedictines of St John’s School of Theology in nearby Collegeville, Minnesota. It was then that I first considered a novel about Paul, and the idea festered until I finally put pen to paper a few years ago, resulting in the publication of A Wretched Man in 2010.
In January 2014, Pilgrim Press, the oldest publishing house in America, published Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism, which was a 2015 finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. A series of short stories based upon my Vietnam experience was originally released as Prowl, but new chapters have been added and re-released as Gonna Stick My Sword in the Golden Sand: A Vietnam Soldier’s Story. After many requests, the sequel to A Wretched Man, entitled Wormwood and Gall, the Destruction of Jerusalem and the First Gospel, was published in 2019. Wormwood was named a finalist for the 2020 Midwest Book Award in the Religion/Philosophy category. Inspired by my Scandinavian immigrant roots, Lost in the Land of Milk and Honey was released in 2022. I have long wanted to speak to my own coming of age and that of the boomer generation, and the result is The Point Man and the Peacenik: America in 1968 published in 2024.
Through it all, I have blogged here, and hundreds of archived articles are regularly accessed through web searches.
Lynn and I recently celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary, and we have three adult children, their spouses, and two granddaughters.
Just reread Wormwod and Gall, as it was nominated for an award. So good! Proud of you, my brother.
Just read your book, “Going to stick my sword into the golden sand”. My daughter purchased this for me and my only criticism is that it was way too short. From April 1969 through April 1970, I spent a year with the 4th Infantry Division, 3rd brigade, LRRPS. I was stationed at LZ Oasis. Reading your too short book made me feel as if I was sitting down with a friend and recalling thoughts and feelings from a very long time ago. Thanks for transporting me back to 1969. Glad we’re both here in 2022 thanking each other for our service. And, for the record, I hate that phase, thank you for your service. When I hear that now it seems so empty. Would have been nice to hear that in 1970. But that’s another story.