You're not all wrong. I live similarly to the way you describe. I'm certainly not setting him up as a model, or defending the subject of the story. Do you know

You're not all wrong. I live similarly to the way you describe. I'm certainly not setting him up as a model, or defending the subject of the story. Do you know Toronto well? It might not be to learn from the lessons he has to offer, but may be something somebody (or many people) in this town need to hear. Like I said, there are so many would-be anythings that fade into obscurity for one reason or another, for a cause that was their fault or not. Normally you just don't hear from them. Everybody loves an unlikely success story, but are full of venom when shown the other side. Maybe nobody wants to believe it, and would prefer to believe that everything follows a perfect order and all you have to do is follow a prescribed set of rules and you'll be fine. I think the context is important—the story is a tragedy, not an ode.