A Freaky Kind of Courage

In A Freaky Kind of Courage, I see that those who have the been abused have three choices when dealing with those even weaker than ourselves. Caleb, himself abused as an orphan, is now faced with the choices of abusing some of the circus animals, watching them being abused and walk away, or standing up for them against a much larger and stronger abuser. That's not the only choice Caleb is faced with on the circus train journey through the heartland. In this story we learn along with Caleb that courage is a strange thing. It is strengthened as the heart becomes not harder, but softer.