The world of Straight · a companion to Book 1
A boy's life does not begin at intake.
Before the blue chairs and the rules, there were friends, music, places to disappear for an afternoon, and a world that felt like his. Straight: A Life in Circles moves between that boyhood and the program that interrupts it.
- Client
- Obie, age 14, Brookline
- Intake
- Fri, June 9, 1989
- Site
- Evans Drive, Stoughton, Mass.
- Phase
- First Phase · newcomer
- Graduated
- Fri, Oct 12, 1990
- Time inside
- 1 year, 4 months, 3 days
“My parents found me at the Brookline Hills T stop. I was fourteen years old.”Chapter 1, The Circle Closes
DossiersThe people in the roomCarol and her notebook. Rick and his coffee cup. Oldcomers, newcomers, host families, and the family at home.
The rulebookHow the program workedFive phases, the belt loop, host homes, Moral Inventories, advancement and setbacks.
ChronologyTwo ways of keeping timeFollow the program years without losing sight of the childhood woven through them.
The recordThe real Straight1970 to 2023: a First Lady, a princess, 60 Minutes, the courts, and the closing.
Step into June 1989Places & soundThe front page, the map of the Circle, the mixtape and the lexicon.
whatisstraight.comPhase OneA fictional campaign built around the language of belonging.
Quick referenceSixty wordsMotivating. Oldcomer. T&R. MI. The words you learned on the first day.
On the roofThe real CircleA former Circle Cinema projectionist's view from the roof at sunrise: the theater, the trolleys, the intersection.
The story concerns institutional control and abuse involving young people. Explore at your own pace; audio and video play only when you choose.