Book excerpt: Abandoned as a toddler in Nazi Germany, American-born Eleanor Isaacson survived bombings, starvation, Russian occupation, and a stint as a child smuggler -- all before reaching her teens. Escaping just as the Iron Curtain clashed shut, Eleanor soon discovered that "the land of the free" held as much pain and rejection as the life she'd escaped. Deafness and solitude would become the catalyst leading to glorious womanhood, the love of her life, and the beauty of dance. In the process, she would discover that the "invisible Friend" whose presence alone had kept a lost child sane had other names -- heavenly Father, loving God, Prince of Peace. A true story too implausible for fiction with every element of a big screen epic -- war, danger, starvation, villaims, romance, rags-to-riches triumph -- along with the most delightful of heroines.