Have you ever wondered what inspires authors like Ben Mikaelsen to write their books and what personal experiences might have led to this idea? Ben Mikaelsen has written many state Readers Choice Award winning novels, one of them being Touching Spirit Bear. This book is about a boy named Cole Matthews who is sent to a remote Alaskan island as punishment for beating up a kid badly. He dreaded going to the island but meets something that seems impossible, known as a Spirit Bear which is a white, ghostly looking creature that teaches him more about himself that anyone else ever has.
A key thing in Touching Spirit Bear was the spirit bear itself. A leading cause for this idea probably came from the fact that he had a bear of his own. For a great portion of his life, 26 years to be exact, Mikaelsen had adopted, raised, and lived with a “750 pound black bear” (Mikaelsen) named Buffy.To him, Buffy was like a roommate, but more importantly was like his best friend. Sadly, Buffy died at the age of 26 on September 1st, 2010, but he did not leave without leaving a mark for he had left Mikaelsen with the inspiration to …show more content…
Growing up in Bolivia, he was a misfit already due to his skin tone compared to the other kids, and this led to him being bullied. He spent a large part of his life, up until his teenage years, being angry and not liking himself for who he was.Mikaelsen even says in an interview “Sadly, it took becoming angry teenager and seeing inside a few police stations before I learned to embrace my differences and be proud of them.”. His goal while writing Touching Spirit Bear was to share with teenagers “the hard lessons over the years” (Mikaelsen). In a way, Cole Matthews was a reflection of Mikaelsen himself and was trying to share the knowledge that he wished someone had told him with other
A key thing in Touching Spirit Bear was the spirit bear itself. A leading cause for this idea probably came from the fact that he had a bear of his own. For a great portion of his life, 26 years to be exact, Mikaelsen had adopted, raised, and lived with a “750 pound black bear” (Mikaelsen) named Buffy.To him, Buffy was like a roommate, but more importantly was like his best friend. Sadly, Buffy died at the age of 26 on September 1st, 2010, but he did not leave without leaving a mark for he had left Mikaelsen with the inspiration to …show more content…
Growing up in Bolivia, he was a misfit already due to his skin tone compared to the other kids, and this led to him being bullied. He spent a large part of his life, up until his teenage years, being angry and not liking himself for who he was.Mikaelsen even says in an interview “Sadly, it took becoming angry teenager and seeing inside a few police stations before I learned to embrace my differences and be proud of them.”. His goal while writing Touching Spirit Bear was to share with teenagers “the hard lessons over the years” (Mikaelsen). In a way, Cole Matthews was a reflection of Mikaelsen himself and was trying to share the knowledge that he wished someone had told him with other