Spirit Camp

About the Book

Indecisive, and drawn by peer pressure, thirteen - year - old Shawn Chadwick starts failing in school, and becomes a nuisance around the house. In order to change his attitude, Shawn's exasperated parents enroll him in a boy's camp in Northern Maine where he and his cabin mates are the youngest boys in camp.

At first, Shawn rebels against the strict rules, but as the summer advances, he is nurtured by his cabin counselor, and then by a full blooded Native American named, Red Cloud. Red Cloud's courses in Indian Lore and Survival train Shawn to live in the wilderness, barely. After several incidents where Shawn proves his emerging leadership abilities and honesty, Red Cloud offers him the opportunity to participate in his tribe's manhood ceremony.

Doubtful about his ability to complete the ceremony, Shawn overcomes his fears and accepts the challenge. Surviving alone for four days adjacent a secluded pond, Shawn seeks his totem and is drawn into the life of a wounded beaver.

Spirit Camp is a compelling story of a boy's coming of age, combining excitement, adventure, and a young man's ability to become one with his natural surroundings.

About the Author

Robert Cleland is a retired school teacher, Boy Scout leader, and avid outdoorsman. Teaching Indian Lore and Survival skills at summer camps, he draws on his personal experiences, army background, and his rural home in the Monadnock region of NH to portray realistic wilderness settings for his stories.