The One That Went Away

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the rise of a new type of school, the behavior modification program. With few other options at their disposal, Jay Chaparral's parents turn to one such program to save their son: Crooked Timber Creek Academy (CTCA). The Chaparrals, in deciding to send their son "away" from the toxic small town of Waverly, Indiana, pull him out of a downward spiral and set him on a path that will forever alter his fate. Situated among the stunning mountain views of northwest Montana, the school promises to give students separation, structure, and skills. “The Program” boasts life-changing methods of behavior modification and strategies for success. In the regimented ranks of Crooked Timber Creek, Jay Chaparral must come to terms with a new type of "family life," one with 19 other young men, support groups, mandatory seminars, and motivational speakers…accountability, consequences, and cult-like lingo…military fitness, behavior points, and a level system. When Jay returns to small town Indiana, will it be as a “brainwashed sell-out” as his friends and acquaintances warned? Only time will tell…