Aranka Siegal was born on June 10, 1930 in Beregszasz, Czechoslovakia. Her early childhood was divided between two distinct cultures. She spent most of the year with her family enjoying the city life of Beregszasz, while summers were spent with her grandmother, Babi, in the Ukrainian farming community of Komjaty. When the borders closed at the beginning of World War II, Aranka spent a year in Komjaty unable to rejoin the rest of her family. "The open fields, the river, and the forest of this Ukrainian village became my playground. The color of the wild flowers, the feel of the forest, the sound of the water, the humming of the insects, the warmth of the animals--these experiences became the play from which I learned so much.

"What seemed strange at first--the people, their clothes and habits--quickly became familiar. Their language was Ukrainian, but Babi spoke to me in Yiddish. 'No...