A Certain Man

"A Certain Man" by Zane Kotker chronicles the life of a New England minister through three generations. "Arley" Minor is born into a large New England family. His father has traded the hard life of a farmer and the ice trade for a career as an undertaker. With this change comes relative wealth and prestige, and a unique look at life and death for Arley. "Is Papa God?" six year old Arley asks his mother, "The people in the barn, they died and they came to Papa."Each chapter gives a slice of the life of Arley as he develops and matures into a minister whose strength is interpersonal communication. He builds and maintains his congregations through the pastoral visit, in his prime logging 45 plus visits per week."A Certain Man" is a historical novel based on the life of Edward Hickcox, my great uncle. His daughter, the author of the book, used her father's diaries and her observations as a preachers kid to chronicle her father's life through two world wars, the influenza epidemic of 1918, and New England politics and prejudices. She depicts a realistic look at the life of a minister with the concurrent hardships and frustrations, a man who endures it all, who never loses but lives his faith.