Summary of the book:

Chapter 1:

Cole Matthews is going to spend a whole year in Southeast Alaska as part of Circle Justice. He chose to participate in this program to avoid a jail cell in Minneapolis. Circle Justice helps to teach people how to love, forgive and heal. He doesn't take this serious but he is determined to do anything if it means that he won't have to go to jail. He never wanted to 'heal', to him all of it is a kind of joke.

Chapter 2:

Cole has to live in a one-room wood shelter, with only a wood stove a bed. He has to provide its own food and he needs to find his place in 'the circle'. He is alone in this abandoned place. He hates the place more than he thought he would. He would rather die than stay in his 'house' so he sets it on fire.

Chapter 3:

In this chapter he gets a flashback in which he tells police officer Garvey why he is so furious all the time. His parents are alcoholics and his dad hits him. Obviously, this hurts him a lot. He is very lonely and feels like nobody cares about him. But after while, he was beyond caring about anything in his life anymore. Then, he tries to swim away from the island.

Chapter 4:

In order for Cole to be accepted for Circle Justice he had to attend several meetings, called Circles of Understanding. There were Talking Circles, Peacemaking Circles and Community Circles. During the first meeting, the Hearing Circle, Cole convinced (almost) everyone that he felt sorry for Peter and that he was ashamed of what he has done. Peter was beaten up by Cole. In addition, Cole said that he wanted to get help for his anger issues.

Chapter 5:

Cole was still swimming in order to escape from the island. But because of this anger he could not concentrate very well, so he hadn't come any further and was still at the same place. Finally, he went back to land. His body was aching from the cold.Then he saw the Spirit bear but it vanished very quickly. Despite the oppurtunities given to him, he still doesn't want to heal. And he still blames everyone but himself for everything that goes wrong.

Chapter 6:

Cole thinks about one of the meeting in which Cirlce Justice is being considered. Cole tells that his father beats him up when he's drunk. Plus, he tells that he thinks that nobody cares about him or loves him. Remembering this makes Cole mad again.

Chapter 7:

When the Spirit bear appeard agian, Cole wanted to kill it. But once again it was vanished before he could even make a move. He is determinded to kill it the next time he sees it.

Chapter 8:

He was beaten up by the bear. He was badly injured and could only move his left arm and head. he fears death and felt lonely, small and helpless.

Chapter 9:

When he sees the bear he wants to go towards it but because he is badly wounded he can't. There is a heavy storm, which makes him feel exposed, vulnerable and helpless. Something in his attitude changed when he saw the dead, helpless sparrows.

Chapter 10:

Cole stopped being angry because he had no energy for it anymore. He was sad due to the death of the sparrows. After hours of thinking, he finally quite understood the circle of life. He made the decision to say alive instead of giving up and dying. In order to survive and not die of stravation he had to eat grass and insects.

Chapter 11:

He still is quite hungry, so when he sees a mouse he eats it. After this he is satisfied because he provided food for himself. Then, the Spirit bear appeared another time. Cole is quite scared of it, and this time he's OK with dying.

Chapter 12:

The bear did not kill him, but because he is injured he thinks that he might die. So he accepts that it's his turn to die. Suddenly, he sees the beauty of nature and life. Then Edwin, the Tlingit elder, and Garvey took care of him and brought him to the nearest nurse.

Chapter 13:

On the one hand, he likes being helped and taken care of. On the other hand, he doesn't like it because the people who help him turn into monsters in his nightmares. Due to his bruises he has to be transported to a hospital. He (probably) won't return to the island. But he doesn't care/mind anymore. He's done being mad. The Spirit bear became a memory that would never disappear from his mind or heart

Chapter 14:

His father was arrested for child abuse but didn't had to go to jail because he paid bail. This was because his mother finally spoke up. After six months, Cole could leave the hospital. He was lucky to be alive, because it would have killed most people. He is in a 'battle with his own body'. He has to stay in a detention center for a while. There are several Circle Justice meetings to decide what is going to happen with him.

Chapter 15:

Edwin, the Tlingit elder, talks about the progress Cole has made and that he actually did change. Cole is mentally prepared for his jail sentence. Somehow, Edwin and Garvey manage to convince Circle Justice to let him go back to the island.

Chapter 16:

One moth later, he's back on the island again. First, he had to sell (almost) all his personal belongings in order to buy the supplies for on the island. Because they wouldn't spent any money on him anymore. This means that he also needs to build his own shelter.

Chapter 17:

Cole still feels angry. Edwin tells him that can never get rid of his anger, no matter how hard he tries. It is 'a memory never to be forgotten', so it will always stay with him. Instead of only focusing on the bad things that make him angry, he should focus on the good and happy things in life.

Chapter 18:

Cole worked really hard on his shelter (a wooden hut). They danced the whale dance which taught him that he needs to make something out of his life and that's not enough to 'just be alive'. Every morning he has has a routine that consist of soaking in a cold pond, to clear his mind. And of hiking up and down the hill while carrying the ancestor rock in order to let go of his anger.

Chapter 19:

Cole started to fully participate in the program when he was threatened to be sent back to Minneapolis because his attitude came back. He learned that sometimes you need help from others. Luckily, he could stay on the island. He felt calm and thought really deep about his life.

Chapter 20:

He saw a white figure while he was soaking in the pond. Immediately, he thought of the Spirit bear and that he desperately wanted to see it again. However, it was gone before he could get a good look at it. He also found out the reason for his anger. He was still blaming others instead of himself. Garvey and Edwin left the island when his shelter was done. Once again he was alone on the island. Only this time he didn't felt anger but fear.

Chapter 21:

He made furniture to decorate the 'house'. He felt anger again, but he was able to control it. He found a wooden log on the shore, that could help him escape. After thinking about it, he decided to make a totem pole out of it.

Chapter 22:

He searched for the Spirit bear several times, but he had no luck and didn't find it. Edwin tells him that maybe he needs to become 'invisible' in order to see the bear again. Plus, he wanted to know what was the one thing that would made him heal.

Chapter 23:

He figured out that if he wants to be invisible, he needs to clear his mind. When he did this, he saw the bear again. After that he did the dance of anger. This was very emotional for him.

Chapter 24:

During Edwin's visit he tells that Cole needs to find a way to help Peter. Otherwise he'll never be able to heal and carve anything in the blank space on the log. He saved that space for the healing-part of this program. This was what he needed to discover. During winter, he stayed mostly at home and didn't carve. He felt lonely again and longed for another human voice. He was told that Peter tried to commit suicide. Cole really wants to help him.

Chapter 25:

Cole's idea/plan to save Peter is to let him go to the island in order for him to heal. Eventully, Peter comes to the island with his parents, Garvey and Edwin. Cole tells about what he has been through and shows them the island. In order to heal himself, he needs to help Peter.

Chapter 26:

Peter is still terrified by him, so he sleeps in Cole's shelter and Cole sleeps in a tent. Then Peter's parents leave the island and it's just Cole, Peter and Garvey. He shows him his daily routine, but Peter refused to speak and did only what Garvey asked him to do. Peter is making progress however he accidentally bumps into Cole and throws rocks at him. Peter then invites Cole to come and sleep in the hut.

Chapter 27:

Peter finally talks to him and wants to see a Spirit bear, because he doesn't think it's true that Cole was attacked by one. He keeps on teasing Cole, and even destroys his bear carving. Cole gives him his own log, so Peter can carve too. Peter carves a new (and more realistic) bear in Cole's log. He wants Peter to learn him how to carve so precisely.

Chapter 28:

One morning Peter and Cole decide to go fishing together. Peter is still very mad at him and that's why they will never be friends. Peter beats Cole up but because Cole refuses to fight back he eventually stops beating him. The Spirit bear has been watching them the whole time. It was because the were invisible. Cole gives the at.óow to peter because he hopes that someday he'll trust him. They both forgave each other. Cole carved a circle in the empty space on the log because everything both is a beginning and an end and everything is one.

THE END.