World-renowned poet and Professor of African American Studies at U.C., Berkeley, June Jordan writes a deeply personal memoir of her formative years. June recalls her childhood experiences and reveals the duality of her parents' influence on her stellar achievement as a poet. The first 12 years in Harlem were both peaceful and tumultuous for June, as she was raised the daughter of dirt-poor West Indian immigrants. She was called "son" by her demanding and sometimes brutal father who made her rigorous education his primary concern. June's quiet mother inspired her devotion to words and rhythm by reading Mother Goose nursery rhymes and associating specific words with parts of June's body. Complemented by Robin Miles' thoughtful narration, June's memoir is interspersed with poetry that reflects the joy and pain of her daily experiences. Soldier is a beautiful and genuine portrait of a girl growing up in post-World War II Harlem.