It can sometimes be hard to look at successful authors with anything but envy, wishing you could ever be so lucky. But it’s important to remember that many of them started from a very different place from where they ended up. They had to use all their grit and courage to pull themselves up from their humble beginnings, jumping hurdles and dodging obstacles all along the way.
One such author is Douglas Stuart, a writer in his mid-forties. His 2020 debut novel, Shuggie Bain, tells the story of Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, a young boy who has to endure growing up in rundown public housing in Glasgow, Scotland during the 1980s. He adores his vibrant, charismatic mother but her alcoholism causes her to be a burden to her children—Shuggie especially. On top of that, Shuggie struggles with his sexuality and getting bullied for being gay.
Stuart did not have to look too far for his novel’s inspiration. The story is based on his own experiences growing up in Scotland as the son of a single, alcoholic mother. There weren’t many books in his Glasgow home—his mother had what looked like shelves of leatherbound classics, but they were really faux-leather cases for VHS tapes of movies and soap operas.
The youngest of three, Stuart often felt isolated since his older siblings were already teens by the time he was born. He never got to know his father, who left when Stuart was very young. Stuart spent his youth caring for his wayward mother, who would frequently get blackout drunk and attempt to harm herself. Sometimes he skipped school to look after her—often that seemed a better alternative than dealing with the cruel boys at school who teased him for being “poofy”. He lived in a hard, working-man’s world where there was a huge stigma to homosexuality.
Stuart’s mother died due to alcoholism when the author was sixteen. At just seventeen years old, he moved into a boardinghouse on his own. To escape from his lonely circumstances, he read every book he could get his hands on. He also became the first person in his family to graduate from high school.
He wanted to study English literature in college but was dissuaded by teachers who insisted that such a major wouldn’t be of use to someone with Stuart’s background. So he majored in textiles instead and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Scottish College of Textiles. He then went on to get a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art in London. One of Stuart’s professors, Sheila-Mary Carruthers, later recalled, “He didn’t go around saying ‘poor me’, and I’m sure a lot of people didn’t realize his circumstances. He’s a very determined personality, not in a very assertive, ghastly way, but in a positive way. He just gets on with it.”
At only twenty-four, Stuart accepted a job with Calvin Klein after a recruiter saw his work at a school fashion show. He moved to New York City and spent two decades working for huge brands like Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Jack Spade, and Ralph Lauren. But despite his success as a fashion designer, Stuart still longed to pursue his first love—literature.
So in his thirties he started writing. At first he viewed it as a sort of therapy; a way to work through his childhood traumas. But then the collection of scenes he wrote began to build into a story—a very, very long story. His first draft of Shuggie Bain was over 900 single-spaced pages long. And it was written while he was working full-time as a menswear designer. He managed to land an agent, but then more than thirty editors passed on the project. They didn’t think the story of a gay Scottish boy and his alcoholic mother would resonate with American audiences.
The only offer Stuart got was from Peter Blackstock, a senior editor at Grove Atlantic. Grove published the book in February 2020. Shuggie Bain was just starting to build some momentum from great reviews and word of mouth when the pandemic hit. No one in the United States was going out to bookstores to buy books, so his hardcopies just sat there unsold.
But then the book got a second life in September. It got listed as a finalist for prestigious honors like the Kirkus Prize, the Booker Prize, and the National Book Award. Judges for the Booker Prize referred to the novel as, “an amazingly intimate, compassionate, gripping portrait of addiction, courage and love” and announced Stuart as the prize’s winner at an online celebration in November. In December A24 And Scott Rudin Productions bought the rights to Shuggie Bain with the intention of adapting it for television.
In his youth, Douglas Stuart grappled with poverty, bullying, and having to act as a caretaker for his alcoholic mother. Left on his own at sixteen, he built up a successful fashion career from nothing. Despite enduring rejection after rejection from publishers and disappointing early sales, his debut novel went on to become an international bestseller and be nominated for some of the most respected awards in the history of literature.
It’s easy to see an author like Stuart and simply be filled with envy at the idea of a debut author who has reached this level of success. Without knowing his background, one might think it was all just dumb luck. But Douglas Stuart’s story shows the kind of struggle so many great authors go through before they hit it big. As writers we should celebrate each other’s triumphs. And if someone like Douglas Stuart could achieve success with the life he’s had, perhaps one day we will too.