ESC
The Outside Circle

The Outside Circle

PublisherHouse of Anansi Press
Date2015
TypeOriginal Graphic Novel, Trade Paperback
LanguageEnglish
ArtistKelly Mellings
Cover ArtistKelly Mellings
LettererPulp Studios Inc.
WriterPatti Laboucane-Benson
GenreAdvocacy
Published inToronto, ON
Pages128
ISBN978-1-77089-937-7
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number2014949815
UPC9 781770 899377 51995
NotesCover price: $19.95 Winner, CODE’s 2016 Burt Award for First Nation, Inuit and Métis Literature In this important graphic novel, two Aboriginal brothers surrounded by poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence, try to overcome centuries of historic trauma in very different ways to bring about positive change in their lives. Pete, a young Aboriginal man wrapped up in gang violence, lives with his younger brother, Joey, and his mother who is a heroin addict. One night, Pete and his mother’s boyfriend, Dennis, get into a big fight, which sends Dennis to the morgue and Pete to jail. Initially, Pete keeps up ties to his crew, until a jail brawl forces him to realize the negative influence he has become on Joey, which encourages him to begin a process of rehabilitation that includes traditional Aboriginal healing circles and ceremonies. Powerful, courageous, and deeply moving, The Outside Circle is drawn from the author’s twenty years of work and research on healing and reconciliation of gang-affiliated or incarcerated Aboriginal men.