Dancing with the Leopard tells the story of three childhood friends who survive a bloody civil war in the newly independent nation of Congo in 1964; mercenaries rescue two of them and they eventually make it back to the country of their parents–one to Canada, one to Britain. The third friend stays behind to look after her mother with leprosy. The experience of the conflict stays with each of the preteens and they grow up with intermittent reminders of fear and death, never knowing when the leopard that stalks them will reveal herself–something that as adults they each discover to be varying shades of depression and post-traumatic stress. In 1994, thirty years later, Danny–a Canadian photojournalist, Salamu–a Belgian Congolese nurse, and Olivia–a British psychologist, find each other and decide to reconnect at a remote tourist lodge in the Virunga Mountains. Within days they find themselves hostages of a ruthless coltan miner and his militia, and in captivity at an abandoned mission house, they meet fellow hostage, Leo–currently a game warden, but in the mid-1960s had spent a year as a young mercenary. As the tense days go by, the stories unravel, and with the help of the warden, they come to terms with many of the troubled memories of childhood. When a traditional healer arrives to treat a sick hostage, Salamu recognizes him from her former life. Will circumstances force her to tell the secret she has kept from her friends? Will the three friends be able to accept their unique past; an understanding denied them as children, and finally see a path forward? That, of course, only matters if they can escape their current captors. "A deeply courageous adventure story for the heart and soul, one that tackles head on, the complexities and the repercussions of Africa's ongoing history of colonization." Kathleen Venema, Ph.D. Author of Bird-Bent Grass "In his debut novel, Brown brings to life an engaging story that spans a lifetime, transporting his readers to the beauty, mystery and danger of Africa...through impressive realism in his writing. His storyline is built on extensive research enclosing multiple themes of friendship, suffering and loss, cross-cultural bonds, war and violence, childhood trauma and PTSD, and the convergence of fate, faith and wholeness." John. B. Franz, Ph.D. author of Congo Shadows and The Mabamba Return . "I was captivated at every level-the storyline was rich, the enhancement of my historical understanding of the 1960s in Congo, and the author's creation of life-like characters...that were well-developed and intriguing...people I could relate to." Dr. Miriam Charter, author of reGeneration. D.H. Brown was born to a Canadian mother and an Australian father in what was then the Belgian Congo, part of a missionary family that was rescued by mercenaries during the bloody civil war following the country's post-colonial independence. He worked for three decades as a university photographer and has travelled and photographed in thirty countries and over twenty African parks and wildlife reserves. He currently lives in Calgary, Alberta.