"It’s low tide on a pristine August day at a rustic teen boys’ camp on Dyer Island, Maine, two miles off the coast. A work project on a new

pier is teeming with life. There is a steady stream of adolescent boys covered in mud and seaweed carrying heavy rocks from a grounded barge. The boys have formed a relay to hand the large rocks from one to another up to the top of a framework of logs that has been

fastened together with steel rebar rods to form a square foundation for a new pier. Each rock is dropped into the cage to provide the weight necessary to keep the logs in place during the ebb and flow of the Maine tides. There is not an adult in sight and these boys seem to be enjoying the hard work, smiling and engaging in

trash talk.

There is one exception. Fifteen-year-old Johnny Miller sits defiantly on a stack of pressure treated planking that will be used to construct the deck at the top of the pier. Johnny is small for his age, has a bad attitude, and is not fitting in. The very reason he is at this camp was discussed behind his back three months earlier by his mother, Carol, and New York City psychiatrist Dr. Peter Gallagher.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Miller. I can’t help Johnny if he isn’t present.”"

"The Dyer Island Boys

“But I’m afraid that’s impossible under the circumstances,” she replies.

“Tell me about those circumstances then,” asks Dr. Gallagher. “Johnny refuses to speak with anyone about his issues, even to

the point of becoming violent,” pleads Carol. “He has rebelled against everything. He’s failed at school, can’t keep friends, and he won’t do anything responsible.”

“What does he do?” asks Dr. Gallagher.

“In the year since his father’s death,” she explains while wringing her hands, “he has broken things, quit all sports, and sabotaged all new relationships I have developed with other men. He has no interests in anything but television and video games. I’ve tried counseling, rewarding, bribing, and everything.”

Dr. Gallagher pauses to consider before scribbling on his notepad. He rips out a page and hands it to Carol.

“What is this?” she asks.

“It’s a prescription for Xanax. It’ll calm you down.”

Dr. Gallagher turns to his notepad once more, pausing a moment before starting a fresh page.

“Johnny is not necessarily unique in his situation,” he says. “I have a doctor friend, highly respected in medicine and in his

community, who runs a summer camp for teens experiencing problems much like Johnny’s. I’m certain if you give him a call, he will be willing to help.”

At camp, Johnny continues to sit it out as other boys do the work. Fresh on his mind is what happened just two days earlier, when he decided to sneak into a cabin occupied by other boys while they were at the mess hall eating dinner.

Johnny was in the cabin going through some other boys’ things.

He found a box—a care package from home—and pulled out some new socks stuffing them into his back pocket. In a backpack beside one of the beds, Johnny picked up some folding money stuffing it into the same pocket. Sensing the boys were returning, he made a speedy exit when he was discovered by cabinmates Sean and TJ.

“Hey Johnny, what were you doing in our cabin?” asked Sean. Johnny looked away in shame to avoid eye contact.

“What’s that sticking out of your back pocket?” asked TJ.

“Those are my new socks,” declared Sean who pulled them"

"Chapter One - The Lesson

out of Johnny’s pocket. At the same time, the bills also tumbled onto the ground.

With that humiliation still in his head, Johnny ignores the work at the pier site. His mind strays to better times with his father

whom he misses so dearly. His home life suffered when his father died a year ago and he now considers himself abandoned. He again longs for those days when his dad would take him fishing or canoeing— activities his mother has no interest in. His pleasant thoughts are

now interrupted by Mark, a senior camp counselor who speaks with a strong Boston accent.

“Johnny, if you keep refusing to be a part of the work, nobody’s gonna be your friend.”

“I can do whatever the hell I want,” replies Johnny.

“Yes,” says Mark, “but you’ll never be accepted and you’re lookin’ for a one-way ticket home.”

“Fine by me,” says Johnny.

“I’ve come because Wick wants to see you,” adds Mark firmly as he ignores Johnny’s response and points to a high point up the path where Wick’s cabin is located.

Johnny grudgingly gets up and follows Mark on the path and up a hill toward Wick’s Point, a high spot on the island. They arrive at an isolated cabin with a front deck that affords a grand view of the coastal water below. Mark knocks on the door and the two are

greeted by Dr. Walter Wickson, a soft-spoken man of about eighty with white hair. Wick, as he is called by most, is a retired medical doctor who had been chairman of the surgical department at a major New York hospital. His wife, Dr. Anne Wickson, in her mid-seventies, a prominent retired pulmonologist, is with him.

“Dr. Wick,” says Mark, “I have brought Johnny.”

“Oh Johnny, I’m glad you came! Anne and I would like you to meet someone. But I’m afraid he is running a bit late. Please come in.”

Johnny goes in while Mark waits outside.

“Mark, we’ll be a little while. Johnny will rejoin his group when we’re finished.”

Mark heads back down the path and passes Harry Thompson, a distinguished looking black man of about sixty-five, who is heading up the hill, walking with a limp and aided by a cane. As they pass, Harry waves at Mark and speaks with a strong baritone voice. “You boys are

doing some great work!”"

"The Dyer Island Boys

“Thanks,” replies Mark, “you know the motto.” “I surely do,” says Harry.

When he arrives at Wick’s cabin, Harry gives three loud knocks and enters without waiting. Inside, Wick is seated with Johnny and Anne drinking tea in the sparsely furnished living room. Wick gets up to greet Harry.

“It’s really swell you could come out,” says Wick, as he gives Harry a hug.

“I’d like you to meet Johnny Miller, one of our camp boys.” While Johnny does not get up, Harry offers a handshake. “Johnny, this is Dr. Harold Thompson.”

“Hello,” Johnny responds shyly.

“Johnny is at Camp Dyer for the first time,” explains Wick, “and I’m afraid he hasn’t yet had a chance to fully appreciate what we’re doing here.”

“I can certainly understand,” replies Harry turning to Johnny. “This island and this camp are very special to me. Maybe we can take a walk and I can point out some of that history.”

Wick and Johnny get up while Anne decides to stay at the cabin. “I’ll pass on the walk while I catch up on my reading,”

offers Anne.

“Very well,” says Wick as he, Johnny, and Harry head out. As they emerge, Wick and Harry slowly amble down the steps onto a path through the woods. Johnny follows along patiently, cutting his normal strides in half to keep from getting ahead. Faced with the prospect

of having to explain his bad attitude, Johnny walks with trepidation. Johnny wasn’t always like this. In school he was always taught to win whether it be grades or simply games of wit. No one ever spoke of losing. When Johnny’s dad was battling cancer everyone said he was such a great fighter. When his dad lost that battle, Johnny was beaten too. His world was shattered. And then, when he and his mom moved to a new house and he started in a new school he was bullied

for his size. On the path as they continue walking, Johnny is expecting to be reminded of his failures and told he will be sent home. But the reprimands don’t come.

“I think I understand your feelings about going your own way,” says Harry. “You’re not much different from the way I was at your age. But there is one big difference.”

“What’s that?” asks Johnny."

"I did.”"   "Chapter One - The Lesson

“Well, for starters,” offers Harry, “you have it much better than The three are passing an open space with a building that is"

"much different from other island construction. It is made of granite stones and has large glass and stained glass windows that look out over the water. Harry moves off the path and gingerly over to the building, while Wick and Johnny stop. Harry runs his hands over the stone foundation and then examines the oversized front doors that have been artfully crafted from oak. As he continues to examine details at close range, Johnny looks at Wick in a puzzled way.

“The memorial building means a lot to him,” explains Wick.

As Harry rejoins them, his face glowing with pride, they resume walking down the path.

“This island and this camp changed my life Johnny, but the story goes back even farther than that. This island wasn’t meant to be what it is today. Dr. Wickson can tell you volumes about what happened even before they introduced me to this place.”

“Well, Johnny,” says Wick as they continue down the island path with Harry, “I was a young doctor in 1946 just beginning my career in New York. I worked as a resident at Roosevelt Hospital.

That means I was a doctor but I needed practical training in treating patients. I was helping another resident, six years my senior, who had just come back home from World War II after it ended. Meredith Jones, like me, was studying to become a surgeon. We became close friends and even though he was technically my supervisor, I worked with him to update his medical skills and knowledge. I simply called him Doc and he called me Wick. We had big plans to save the world

but no idea someday we would end up with this summer camp.”"