Coffeetown Press
PO Box 70515
Seattle, WA 98127
For more information go to: www.coffeetownpress.com
www.davidccarlson.org
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover watercolor by Kathy Carlson
Cover design by Sabrina Sun
Let the Dead Bury the Dead
Copyright © 2017 by David Carlson
ISBN: 978-1-60381-395-2 (Trade Paper)
ISBN: 978-1-60381-396-9 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016962688
Produced in the United States of America
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To two communities that anchor my life:
First, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Carmel, Indiana, a loving and accepting community where people’s lives—including mine—have been transformed.
Second, Franklin College, which over the past thirty-nine years has taught me that being a professor is about student learning, not about me.
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To Kathy, my friend, wife, and first editor, I owe the most. She has spent nearly as much time with Christopher Worthy and Father Fortis as I have, and she shares my love for these characters. I also wish to thank Sara Camilli, my agent, for her constant belief in this series. Thanks also to Catherine Treadgold, Jennifer McCord, and Becca Eskildsen of Coffeetown Press for their patience and excellent advice.
To Leif, Marten, Mandy, and now Felix, please know how much joy you bring to my life.
I am grateful to Franklin College, a gem of a liberal arts college that has been my home for nearly forty years. Through various grants, Franklin College generously funded travel that was essential to creating this series.
Finally, I wish to thank all the English and writing teachers who encouraged me to read, read, read, and who responded with kindness to my early attempts to fill the blank page.
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“Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.’ ”
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