When Soldiers Dance

Brendan Smedley is a man in his late teens who is coming of age within the highly restrictive, banal, and often brutal world of the military. It is the seventies, and Brendan discovers the quickest way to escape his dysfunctional family is through the army. Shy, intelligent, and lacking self-confidence, Brendan finds the loose, carnal environment of soldiering to be disconcerting. He must deal with a simple-minded bully as well as a castigating Sergeant who knows the horrors of the battlefield. Brendanâ€s journey eventually takes him and the Sergeant on a peace-keeping mission to a far-off land. It is there that the two commit an act of merciful courage, yet at the same time take with them a terrible secret. When Soldiers Dance is a humorous story about growing up, experiencing a first love, testing the boundaries of loyalties, and getting over lifeâ€s hurdles.