Cameron

Cameron is the character at the centre of The Men He Met Along The Way. Through the perspective of twelve men, we see him grow from an eighteen year old starting his journey to discover his identity, to a sixty year old worn down by the battles of life.

In this post, I wanted to shed a little light on the man, what it was like to write him and also some reflections of what I learned from writing him. The book is not out yet, so there will be no spoilers! Yet I hope that before and after reading, one can understand how there are many men like Cameron in our world and most importantly, just because someone may have made their way through the journey of coming out, does not give them the right to harm those still yet to make it.

A flawed man

Cameron is a very conflicted individual, even before the first chapter and meeting Sebastian, he has fought many battles, often losing. For a man so wise, competent and brilliant in his professional life, he will come to make some awful decisions in his personal life.

This leaves Cameron as a deeply flawed character. Kind and incredible on one page, foolish and naive on the next. We, as humans are the same. We come with flaws whether we like it or not. Cameron, like many of us, carries these flaws daily and no matter how hard he tries to avoid them, they follow him around.

Cameron's main battle is that with his identity. Upon reading the book, you will learn how he found himself in this position and how his upbringing forced him to wrestle with the expectations placed upon him and the reality of who he is meant to be.

Yet Cameron is an adult with his own agency. Which raises an important question.

Who is responsible for Cameron's life choices?

Writing him. Liking him. Hating him.

Writing Cameron was a journey in itself. Of course, important story elements such as character arcs are important and I will leave it to readers to decide whether his arc is in anyway worthwhile. The most difficult part was writing a character aging and reacting to his experiences in a way reflective of his age and wisdom. I knew Cameron could not just keep running from himself. Balancing his fear, his desire and his experience proved difficult at times.

Which led to him making some bad decisions. There are moments in the book where Cameron is not a nice person. Even writing him, I grew to dislike him and become frustrated by him. Which is why I would take no offence to a reader feeling the same. As mentioned, he is a flawed man and as a result, lives a flawed life.

Yet there were moments of sheer kindness, of reflection in which Cameron demonstrates himself to be worthy of sympathy. The battle he faces and fear he experiences is hard and it cuts deep into Cameron as a person.

The story is the story.

The reader is the one who can decide whether Cameron deserves his redemption.

The Cameron's we know

Looking into the bigger picture, there will be Cameron's walking the street with us. Men who, like Cameron, have spent a lifetime battling themselves for every waking day. This book sheds light on their experience. If you read and make it to the end, your feelings about Cameron are respective of your experience.

But I hope that you are able to look upon those who have lived a similar life to Cameron and understand that just because you may have 'completed' the journey of coming out, does not mean you have the ability to look down upon those are still walking that road.

Simply put, those who are still meeting the men along their own way.