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The name and origin of this story is early in chapter 3. "I'm a nonconformist." I wondered about those words for over 50 years. Why did a boy named Ken say that to me one day out of the blue walking home from school?

That's the only memory I have of Ken. My name is also Ken, but I'm not the "Ken" of this story. A few years ago, what Ken was possibly saying dawned on me and became the starting point for this story, which follows a boy from childhood to the central crisis of his life at 14, through further crossroads to the beginnings of maturity by his early 20's.

What were those times like? I could read a book like Black Like Me when I was 15, then denounce the hostility of some to the people of colour in their midst, but I could never whisper a word about the fear and hostility I would have faced had I shown my feelings to the world. If you were a boy in 1960 or 1970, you did not want to develop feelings for other boys. Not unless you had a stronger character than most, or some special way to accept yourself despite near-universal antagonism.

This story isn't for everyone. It gets pretty dark in places. Its plot includes sexual acts between consenting, sexually mature people who may be under the age of 18. A few detailed sexual descriptions are included, where the plot requires.

Just so you know, the Canadian dollar, like many currencies, has lost about 90% of its value since the mid-1960's. CDN$100 in 1967 had about the same purchasing power as CDN$895 in 2025. So, $500,000 in 1967 is the equivalent in 2025 of about $4,700,000. Give or take a dollar or two.

I hope you enjoy reading this story. I'm an experienced writer professionally, but this is my first try at writing fiction. If you have constructive comments about how I can improve my writing, please send them to me. My email address is at the end of this introduction.

The Nonconformist is mostly fiction. Some characters existed and some events took place. They're mostly disguised here. I left intact the names of a couple of people I want to honour this way.

I offer grateful thganks to Peter Chastain and Arthur Fallick for their invaluable editing

Copyright © 2025 by Kenneth Cohen. All rights reserved. The Nonconformist including all of its chapters is the property of the author. No part or parts of the story may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. For permission requests, contact the author as follows: kenwriting@icloud.com, or through the folks who run the websites at which this story may appear.

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