Being a bully is a choice

Beaten repeatedly by his dad while his mom stood by, Cole Matthews became a bully.
He beat a classmate to unconsciousness and so began another excursion into court. This recurrent scene usually ends in juvenile detention.
But that was before he met the age-old tradition of the justice circle.
When his worker suggested the justice circle rather than a year in jail, Cole thought he could manipulate his way through this too.
Soon his year alone on an island begins as he retains the anger, resentment, and blame of everyone else, it is someone else’s fault he does what he does.
The Elder tells him what he does to others he does to himself. But Cole has to learn for himself and his challenges mount.
Defiantly he sets fire to the shelter built by the Elder and with it, all of his supplies: blankets, bed, food, and tools, showing them he won’t be contained.
He swims to escape the island only to find he returns with the tide, exhausted, without food, without shelter in a severe storm.
Lashing out, he seeks to hurt all around him as he wishes death to trees, sparrows sitting in a nest being fed by a parent while he has nothing to eat. It is then he encounters the Spirit Bear and when the bear does not show fear Cole tries to hurt the bear.
He is mauled, limbs are broken and then the bear exerts its power and stands near him watching as Cole is dying.
He finds a focus for life and through a terrifying near-death experience he lives. Through his own choice and support from his worker and Elder he returns to live out the year banishment on the island.
This story is written by a man who was a bully, who learned from mistakes and who walked the shoes of Cole, the boy Cole beat, and then those of the worker and Elder. It is engaging, filled with traditional teachings, and is an enjoyable read for youth and adults alike.
Touching Spirit Bear -- Ben Mikaelsen (HarperCollins Publisher, New York, NY; 2001; ISBN 0-380-97744-3, ISBN 0-380-80560-X (paperback), 0-06-029149-4 (lib. Bdg.); 242 pages; $7.50)