Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Shannon Szwarc says his stay at the Pressley Ridge camp saved him. Click photo for larger image.

On the cover of the new book "Wilderness Within, Wilderness Without," there is a picture of a teenage boy carrying a heavy wooden log on his shoulders. But it is the picture of the same boy on page 21 that says everything.

He's lying in the snow, mitten in his mouth, his face twisted in a questioning grimace. How did I get knocked down? And how do I get up?

On the right side of the frame, there is an adult hand reaching out to touch his face. The gesture is comforting, almost a caress. I will help you get up and try again, it seems to say.

"That picture expresses pretty well what Pressley Ridge is all about," said Shannon Szwarc, an Ohio photographer and author of the 100-page book being released this week about Pressley Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness Camp, a 1,500-acre facility at Ohiopyle for troubled boys.

And Szwarc would know, since he was once one of those boys.

In 1989, at the age of 15, Szwarc was, he says, "out of control, with a huge chip on my shoulder." The White Oak teen was abusing drugs and alcohol, engaging in criminal behavior, and carrying weapons and had already undergone two stints at a psychiatric facility. His parents were at their wits' end. So, as a last resort, a juvenile court sent Szwarc to Pressley Ridge's wilderness camp for 10 months, where living in a rugged outdoor environment with firm but nurturing counselors transformed him.

"The wilderness camp is what saved me," said Szwarc yesterday while visiting Pressley Ridge, where he was preparing for a book signing party and photography exhibit at the University of Pittsburgh's Connie J. Kimbo Gallery last night.

Shannon Szwarc photo One of the photos in the Szwarc's book, "Wilderness Within, Wilderness Without," shows a camper and a teacher/counselor, called "a chief," taking a walk. Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette Click photo for larger image.

"I was a dog with a very large bark and very little bite, but the counselors stuck with me. They saw through my manipulations and taught me to focus on achieving something positive with my life. They held me accountable for being a better person than I thought I was."

After graduating from high school, serving four years in the Navy and earning a bachelor's degree in photojournalism from Kent State University, the time seemed right for some payback, said Szwarc, 30, who now lives in Rootstown, Ohio.

Proposes book idea

So, in 2002 he went to Pressley Ridge's board of directors with a proposal for the book, and they accepted it.

"We're committed to the success of every child, and Shannon has an exceptional talent. When he came to us, we didn't hesitate to approve the idea," said B. Scott Finnell, president and chief executive officer of Pressley Ridge.

There are many wilderness programs across the country available for at-risk teens, and some of them are controversial. But Pressley Ridge has served as a model for other treatment services around the world, Finnell said, with its good safety record, well-trained counselors and challenging outdoor environment. At the Ohiopyle camp, boys live in cabins and tents and undergo a daily regimen of chores, education, outdoor activities and therapeutic programs, all with an idea toward working in teams to accomplish goals.

One example documented in Szwarc's book can be found on pages 42 and 43, which shows four boys in the middle of the winter woods, deeply absorbed in the construction of a large tent, complete with hand-hewn wooden beams. In a caption, one of the counselors (who are known as "chiefs") relates how tent-building "cures any group that is having a problem" in teaching the value of hard work.

Photographer Shannon Szwarc says the Pressley Ridge Ohiopyle Wilderness Camp made him a better person. He recently returned to chronicle ihe stories of some of the teenagers who are at the camp now.

"'Hey!' everybody says. 'We built this! We went down and cut the trees by ourselves,'" relates the counselor, known as Chief Shawn. "'We hauled all the stuff, made all the cuts, skinned all the trees.'"

Chief Shawn goes on to say how such a project "teaches a good work ethic -- especially to young kids who aren't going to make it to college. They'll need construction or some trade that will be able to get them where they need to be."

For the book project, Szwarc lived for eight months at the camp, sometimes spending 10 hours a day with the boys. "I didn't use my camera much for the first few weeks," he said, so that they would get used to the idea of his presence. "Soon they forgot it was there."

Hope yet bleakness

While much of the book is about hope, there are some bleak spots. On page 54, Chief Tom is walking with one of the boys, an arm protectively around the youth's shoulder. It's an uplifting image -- except when you read what Chief Tom has to say:

"We've got good kids that have nobody to go to. When they go home, they're going to the same environment that got them to where they are now. It's just frustrating, especially when they go on home stay. The kids are worried about having to carry a gun while they're on home stay because they live in certain areas. No matter how good these kids are, they're still going back to a bad environment. I can't control that."

Pressley Ridge does provide follow up services for several years after discharge, and the organization's data shows that children coming in who are severely impaired in their ability to function at home and in the community come out of the program with "moderately impaired" scores -- better able to cope in school, at home and in the community.

"It's a tough job, sometimes, going back to the old neighborhood," said Szwarc. "And for so many of these kids, there's not a really good support system out there. But I think Pressley Ridge helps them find their strengths, to make them better able to get through those tough times, because they've learned to discover the positive parts of themselves."

"Wilderness Within, Wilderness Without" will be available for $49.99 at Jay's Bookstall in Oakland, at the University of Pittsburgh Book Center, Joseph-Beth Book Sellers, South Side, and online at BarnesandNoble.com, or by calling Pressley Ridge at 412-442-4612. Szwarc's photographs of Pressley Ridge will be on display through Dec. 4 at the Connie M. Kimbo Gallery at the University of Pittsburgh William Pitt Union.