A gay son and father have written a memoir about their coming out experience
Kevin Newman and his son Alex discuss how their difficult experiences have brought them closer.
When news anchor Kevin Newman’s son Alex came out, the experience challenged both of them and their family.
The pair admit that they shared a difficult relationship throughout the majority of Alex’s childhood – while Kevin was under intense scrutiny at work, Alex struggled with his sexuality and was constantly bullied.
They say while each of faced their own battles, it was almost impossible for them to relate to each other’s.
“When I looked at my father when I was a child, he was always this hero,” says Alex.
“He was always confident, always masculine, always successful, in my eyes.”
“The irony is, I was at the exactly the same place as Alex. I was insecure. I was going through a very difficult time. I wanted to withdraw into a corner,” adds Kevin.
And when Alex decided to come out, it looked set to drive the pair even further apart than they already were.
“I wasn’t completely accepting; I still had issues myself. I could be there to support Alex, but to be truly accepting meant not just accepting Alex as a gay man, it meant accepting what it meant to be a gay man in today’s world,” Kevin admits.
“And that took 10 years, I have to admit, not proudly.”
However, Alex coming out ultimately saw the pair grow closer than they had ever been, after facing a series of difficult truths regarding their relationship.
They have decided to write about it. In ‘All Out: A Father and Son Confront The Hard Truths That Made Them Better Men‘, they tell of their story – and journey – together.
“It’s been an incredible growth experience. I went to World Pride with Alex and his boyfriend in Toronto last year, and I put my arm around his boyfriend and thought, ‘This is great,’” Kevin – a former Good Morning America host – continued.
“To reach that level of humanity and to reach that level of ‘Who cares?’ and to reach that level of ‘I’m just enjoying myself with some really fine people,’ I thought, ‘This is a gift.’
“I learned how to be a better man from my son,” he adds.
