The One That Went Away: A Testimony

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...