Nathan must confront many of his demons over the course of the novel. What is it that allows him to make such progress, do you think?

Nathan must confront many of his demons over the course of the novel. What is it that allows him to make such progress, do you think?

The presence of Xander is a positive influence on Nathan. He loves his son, and values his time spent together with him. He wants improvement in their relationship, as the future time they will have together is expected to be more limited by the tests Xander will be studying for. Nathan's interactions with Ilse also allow him to hope for a connection with a woman that he was sorry to have lost to his brother. Spending time with both Xander and Ilse encourage Nathan to make some changes in his life.

Xander seems to be almost the only good thing in Nathan’s life, the only relationship which has brought lasting joy to him. When Nathan hears Xander’s plea to make changes in his isolated life, he is able to see how his own refusal to change has limited his life.

I think Nathan is someone who, despite his mistakes, has generally always has good intentions. When we meet him at the beginning of the story, he's adopted behaviors and ways of thinking that allow him to cope with painful past memories (through avoidance), but that have also isolated him.

When the events following Cameron's death cause the past to resurface, he resists the truths and feelings that resurface with it to an extent, but he also can't resist them completely because he's someone who's naturally inclined to listen to others and learn from them—his isolation has just prevented him from doing that.

Living in such isolation as Nathan has for so long surely did not help him recognize or accept truths about himself, his family, or his life. Coming home for Cameron's funeral and for Christmas places him in a situation that allows him to see and hear what others believe to be true about the past. Having his son with him gives him someone else to think about, a different kind of life to think about. Being near Ilse also makes him confront to his feelings about her, examine relationships from a different perspective, and of course, hearing his mother talk about the reality of her marriage, share her feelings about her husband and son opens his mind to admitting his own anger, fears, and judgements. Being around other people who shared their realities made him look at himself and revaluate himself, his life and beliefs.

I think staying with his family helped and Xander plays a big role as well. I agree with other responses in that his intentions were always good, and he worked hard to honor the towns' wishes and stayed away. His brother's death opened up doors for forgiveness.

Xander was the grounding force for Nathan. Wanting to improve his relationship with his son helped Nathan see the family flaws and aspire to be a better example for his son.

An interesting benefit of Nathan's possibly self imposed isolation was that he could remain quiet longer than most. This ability helped him to listen rather than talk and at times sit quietly though what others might consider "awkward silence" until the other person offered more information. This helped Nathan to hear more than he had heard in a very long time.

As family members and others around him shared their thoughts and told truths, Nathan began to show willingness to take a hard look at his own "truths". You can't change what you can't acknowledge. Acknowledging certain behaviors goes far towards healing oneself and relationships with others. I think Xander played a major role in this. Nathan's relationship with his son meant everything to him. As Xander pointed out, truth is different depending on who is telling it. Nathan started to realize how his behaviors had consequences for not only himself, but the others in his life.

I think several things happened to make Nathan take notice of his life. First, Cameron's death forced him to leave his home to help Cameron's family and what should be done. Also, I think it helped when the police told him he did not have to stay away from town and they did not expect him to do so. The main thing that helped though was having his son there. When Xander told Nathan what his plans were and that he wanted his Dad to be part of it. His offer to Nathan that he wanted him to visit him at school was a big help and it is what made him to ease the tensions between him and his wife.