One of the Guys — Robert Clark Young

This novel starts off with a bang and does not let up until the last page is turned. Miles Derry, a down-on-his-luck man who, in his sole pursuit to make his monthly child support payment, has taken on a string of dead-end and often seedy jobs. One night, while working at the Little Pink Bookstore, he comes across a stiff (in every sense of the word) who turns out to be a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. Deciding to take the chaplain's identity as a way out of his own miserable life, Miles burns the body--and his bridges--and reports for duty on the USS Warren Harding as it embarks for the Far East. The drama of his double-life at sea not only transforms him from a recovering alcoholic to a military man of the cloth, but he discovers he's married and a closet homosexual to boot. As the ship travels from Okinawa to the Philippines to Thailand he finds himself in murky waters, but it's certainly our pleasure as the author skillfully draws out the tension and humor inherent in the situation. Thanks to his own varied experiences, including a stint aboard a Navy ship, Young captures perfectly the tone and feel of life on a military tanker. The characters in the novel are at once real and colorful. As a chaplain, he deals with men at their most vulnerable. His inherent gentleness and empathy wins him respect, and the affection of the widow of the real chaplain.