By age four-and-a-half, Shirley "Sorahlah" Barasch shows artistic gifts: writing 'pomes' before she can spell or pronounce the words; playing the 'pyeano' by ear-her "parlor trick" according to her father. But suddenly tragedy strikes Thrown into a strict religious social order not ready for a woman-let alone a young girl-to be independent and creative, Sorahlah adapts on the fly. She re-orders her daily routine squeezing in piano lessons, writing music, and poetry-often on the sly by flashlight under the covers-in order to achieve her dream. Shirley invites the reader on a visual and...