A Man and His Pride

Sometimes life can be hard – until the right person shows you the way.

Despite coming out years ago, twenty-six-year-old Sean Preston has never been one to shout his sexuality from the rooftops. When his relationship of three months comes to a humiliating end, he vows never to become emotionally attached again, falling into a cycle of hook-ups, booze and an unrelenting gym routine.

The rest of Sean’s life isn’t panning out how he hoped either. His job as an online troll moderator is testing his mental health, his best friend and former girlfriend still resents him for coming out, and even his own mother seems to blame him for a tragedy that tore their family apart. But it is his surprising connection with an eighty-seven-year-old nursing home resident that pushes his identity crisis to the brink.

Then Sean meets naive but kind nurse William, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. William is shy and inexperienced when it comes to the gay dating scene, and Sean offers to show him the way – but it turns out William has a few unexpected life lessons to offer in return . . . and when it comes to forgiveness and self-love, Sean has a lot to learn.

Set in Brisbane during Australia’s 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, A Man and His Pride is an exuberant and deeply moving story that celebrates some of the many ways to be gay, and shows that finding your pride is a journey – one you cannot take alone.

 Author: Luke Rutledge

Paperback  Published 31 January 2022  320 pages

‘Funny, moving, and with energy to burn, Luke Rutledge’s debut is an absolute joy.’ – John Boyne

"In Luke Rutledge’s A Man and His Pride, 26-year-old Sean Preston navigates the realities of being in his 20s—work, relationships, sexuality, mental health—against the backdrop of Australia’s 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite. He’s a gay man who mostly passes as straight, and certainly doesn’t think his sexuality is anything to be out and loud about. He goes to his monotonous job every day, he chats to his one sort-of friend, he puts off calling his mum, and he’s becoming comfortable in what he thinks is a new and promising relationship. That is, until he gets dumped and realises, actually, he’s been treading water for quite a while. As Sean deals with these unfamiliar and murky feelings, he meets William: an awkward and kind-hearted nurse who is very different from the other people in Sean’s life. The two become fast friends despite their differences and, in a somewhat cheesy but still heartfelt way, teach each other the true meaning of friendship. Rutledge’s debut novel is very sweet and very close to the experiences of many 20-somethings in 2017. He deals with sexuality and identity during an important time in Australian history, exploring values that millennials have come to be known for: taking mental health seriously, dealing with trauma, coming to terms with privilege, nurturing friendships. A Man and His Pride is good-time, easy reading; it’s for readers who want a queer story that promises a happy ending."

Danielle Bagnato,  Books+Publishing