Oof. Gut punch. You have a remarkable ability to get right inside the body of your characters, even the ones that feel itchy and foul. That ooo pop thing scene of him wanting to punch the mom said it all. The vulnerable little boy still alive in him, calling out for his mommy who perhaps wasn’t there in a moment of need. Heartbreak.
Damn that was a tough read Ben! I applaud your bravery in both the writing and the publishing… it sure is heartbreaking to imagine the amount of angry young men there are out there right now.
It is heartbreaking and for the most part, completely preventable. Boys don’t have to be raised with such fear and rigid definitions of masculinity. Thanks for reading, Susie.
I've always shied away from writing from these kinds of POVs. The ones from people who would scare me or break me down in real life if I encountered them, while I struggled to understand what shaped their rigid way of thinking about the world. It's hard to want to be inside such a dark place. But as part of our reality, it deserves to be given a voice, if for no other reason than to help us develop ways to cope with it. 💜
Thanks, Meg. When I set out to do this series, the whole point was for me to stretch far outside my comfort zone. This character definitely pushed my limits. Thanks for reading and I'm so glad your back on Substack.
That was so chilling, Ben. I really needed to read your introduction before the meeting the angry young man; I couldn’t have gotten through it otherwise.
Whew! That’s a lot of anger - no wonder this character is about to explode.
‘Absolute strength, stoicism, invulnerability’ — yikes! Are these really the things we expect of our little boys? Our adolescent sons? Our young adult sons, our husbands, our fathers? I hope not!
What the world needs is more empathy, compassion, grace, and dare I say love?
This ia interesting stuff - it manges to be both sharp and compassionate. I hope you can avoid the temptation to rush into exreme characters - i liked the early part of this that was chatty and observational.
Thank you, Ben, for weighing in on this and bringing your whole, sensitive, compassionate self to your art. I hold the vision that there are more of you out there than there are folks like this disturbed, lonely, isolated, fearful, angry young man. He’s someone’s son, too. 😢
Thank you for reading, Julie. Tonight I’m sitting around a campfire with a group of men my age who are all loving, empathetic humans who have been in a book club together for the last 12 years. I can attest that violence and intolerance are not the system default.
Oof. Gut punch. You have a remarkable ability to get right inside the body of your characters, even the ones that feel itchy and foul. That ooo pop thing scene of him wanting to punch the mom said it all. The vulnerable little boy still alive in him, calling out for his mommy who perhaps wasn’t there in a moment of need. Heartbreak.
I know this was going to be a tough one to read. I appreciate you always turning up and being so generous.
Damn that was a tough read Ben! I applaud your bravery in both the writing and the publishing… it sure is heartbreaking to imagine the amount of angry young men there are out there right now.
It is heartbreaking and for the most part, completely preventable. Boys don’t have to be raised with such fear and rigid definitions of masculinity. Thanks for reading, Susie.
A lot of angry young men out there. I'm working hard on making sure my son doesn't become one of them.
That’s where it starts. Thanks for reading, Rhiannon.
Brave storytelling, Ben.
I've always shied away from writing from these kinds of POVs. The ones from people who would scare me or break me down in real life if I encountered them, while I struggled to understand what shaped their rigid way of thinking about the world. It's hard to want to be inside such a dark place. But as part of our reality, it deserves to be given a voice, if for no other reason than to help us develop ways to cope with it. 💜
Thanks, Meg. When I set out to do this series, the whole point was for me to stretch far outside my comfort zone. This character definitely pushed my limits. Thanks for reading and I'm so glad your back on Substack.
Damn, Ben. This is chilling. I bet that wasn’t a fun headspace to step into.
And oof. The world right now is more than a little bit heartbreaking, eh?
It wasn't a fun headspace to inhabit but these deeply troubled boys seem to keep putting themselves in the news. Thanks for reading, friend.
That was so chilling, Ben. I really needed to read your introduction before the meeting the angry young man; I couldn’t have gotten through it otherwise.
Thanks, Lori. Sorry it was a tough one to read. I appreciate you being here. 🙏
Whew! That’s a lot of anger - no wonder this character is about to explode.
‘Absolute strength, stoicism, invulnerability’ — yikes! Are these really the things we expect of our little boys? Our adolescent sons? Our young adult sons, our husbands, our fathers? I hope not!
What the world needs is more empathy, compassion, grace, and dare I say love?
Thank you for sharing this intense exploration.
Hi Rose, thanks for reading and sticking with it. I couldn’t agree more, we need more love and more empathy now more than ever.
This ia interesting stuff - it manges to be both sharp and compassionate. I hope you can avoid the temptation to rush into exreme characters - i liked the early part of this that was chatty and observational.
Thanks for reading, Nibbins. 🙏
Thank you, Ben, for weighing in on this and bringing your whole, sensitive, compassionate self to your art. I hold the vision that there are more of you out there than there are folks like this disturbed, lonely, isolated, fearful, angry young man. He’s someone’s son, too. 😢
Thank you for reading, Julie. Tonight I’m sitting around a campfire with a group of men my age who are all loving, empathetic humans who have been in a book club together for the last 12 years. I can attest that violence and intolerance are not the system default.