Then Marched the Brave

Andy McNeal is lame, and in a world demanding heroes, that feels like a death sentence. His mother Janie watches other young men march off to fight while her son remains behind, a burden in a nation fighting for freedom. When tragic news arrives of a local soldier's death, something awakens in Andy, not despair, but defiance. With his friend Ruth as his unlikely ally, he undertakes a secret journey through war-torn countryside, determined to prove that courage isn't measured in how fast you run. What follows is a boy's fierce argument with destiny, leading him to unexpected encounters and a meeting with George Washington himself that will test everything he believes about his own worth. Comstock writes with tender precision about the pain of being seen as less than, and the revolutionary act of refusing to accept those limitations. This is a story about earning the right to call yourself brave, told with the kind of quiet intensity that stays with you long after the last page.