Cole Matthews’ Journey: A Timeline of Redemption

Posted on Feb 3, 2025 in English

Cole Matthews’ Journey: Part One – A Timeline

From a Troubled Past to a Path of Healing (Oldest to Newest)

  • Comes from a wealthy family; mother cares a lot about her social image.
  • Cole’s father physically abuses him.
  • Abusive father and alcoholic mother.
  • Parents divorce.
  • Cole breaks into a hardware store and brags about it.
  • Peter Driscal informs authorities about Cole’s crime.
  • Cole severely beats Peter, smashing his head into the sidewalk, causing permanent brain and speech damage.
  • Cole is sent to a juvenile detention center before his trial (he has a history of going to jail).
  • Meets Garvey, his parole officer, a Native American of the Tlingit tribe, who also had a troubled past.
  • Garvey suggests Circle Justice to Cole as an alternative to jail. Cole agrees, not to change, but to avoid jail time.
  • Attends numerous Circle Justice meetings, open to anyone seeking community improvement.
  • Cole reveals his father’s abuse, but his father denies it. Cole’s mother remains silent to protect her image.
  • Garvey uses a cake analogy to demonstrate how individual ingredients can be unpleasant, but together they create something good.
  • Cole is banished to an uninhabited Alaskan island, about 300 miles from Drake, Alaska. This one-year banishment is his punishment instead of jail, intended to give him time to reflect on his actions.
  • Flies from Minneapolis to Alaska, then takes a skiff (boat) to the island with Garvey and Edwin, a Tlingit elder who also spent time on this island.
  • Receives an at.óow from Garvey, a blanket passed down through generations, symbolizing responsibility, trust, and respect.
  • Garvey and Edwin will check on Cole periodically with supplies.
  • Cole burns the supplies and shelter, asserting his control.
  • Attempts to swim to a nearby island as an escape.
  • The tide pushes him back to his starting point.
  • Cole was a competitive swimmer.
  • Resents the Spirit Bear for not fearing him and vows to kill it.
  • For Cole, fear equals trust.
  • Finds the at.óow unharmed by the fire.
  • Blames everyone but himself for his situation.
  • Attempts to kill the Spirit Bear, but the bear defends itself, mauling and nearly killing Cole. He can’t feel his right arm, has a broken pelvis, and is wounded everywhere.
  • A huge thunderstorm knocks down a tree, partially electrocuting Cole. The storm also kills baby sparrows, for which Cole feels compassion and sorrow.
  • Cole hates the storm and wishes it would stop.
  • Decides to try his best to survive.
  • Eats worms and a mouse to survive.
  • The Spirit Bear reappears. Cole expects to be killed but the bear does nothing, even when Cole spits at it. Cole then reaches out to touch it. The bear wades into the water and leaves.
  • Cole is rescued by Edwin and Garvey and taken to a temporary hospital in Drake, where nurse Rosey cares for him. He shows a changed disposition. He tells Garvey and Edwin about the Spirit Bear, but they are skeptical, as the bear is not typically found in that area.
  • Cole throws the bear’s fur into the water, realizing he has nothing to prove.
  • Is helicoptered back to a hospital in Minnesota, undergoes surgeries, and spends six months recovering.