Notes from a Minor Key

Whatever Happened to the Amazing
10-Year-Old Girl who Played
with Leonard Bernstein?

"In this spiritual memoir, pianist prodigy and composer Bailiff delves into her early genius, her passion for her husband and kindred spirit, Paul, and her debilitating struggle with multiple sclerosis. This is an astounding tale of talent and woe."
--Publisher's Weekly

"Dawn plays with more veracity than any young pianist I have ever heard.  The sublimity of her artistry is mystical."
--Leonard Bernstein

"A memorable memoir about an unforgettable woman who triumphed in the face of adversity. Readers will empathize, sympathize, and care about her. This book is totally unforgettable."
--The Midwest Book Review, Harriet Klausner

"This book is an eloquent statement of her healing process, which, as she writes, 'has encompassed the physical and the spiritual, the alternative and the conventional.' Recommended for all consumer health collections."
--Library Journal, September 2007

"Exhibiting a stamina surpassing only her determination to pursue a piano career, Bailiff has woven an incredible story, a heartfelt tribute to the power of maintaining hope."
--ForeWord

"I have to face the stigma…I may be ill, but I am for damn sure not weak by anybody's stretch of the imagination. It's [MS] a tough one. That's the hardest battle to overcome."
--Montel Williams, on dealing with Multiple Sclerosis

    In Notes from a Minor Key: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Healing, Dawn Bailiff eloquently tells the story of her struggle over the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis that stole her identity as a rising star in the classical music world performing as a piano soloist with notable maestros Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Daniel Barenboim, and Sir Georg Solti.

     An alternative to the self-help memoir that attempts to teach you to become enlightened and so heal yourself. Instead, she asks: who says that disease has to be eliminated, just because it exists?  Thanks to alternative medicine, indomitable will, and the power of prayer, Bailiff rose from her affliction to become a mother, scholar, writer and teacher. She successfully integrates numerous spiritual concepts into simple wisdom grounded in tenderness, intimacy and reality while embracing an imperfect life.

Music Samples

Click the "Play" button to hear samples of Dawn's performances:

"First-time author Bailiff is one of the more than 2.5 million people worldwide who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). She is also a former concert pianist of international renown, and she recounts her life struggles with passion and honesty, beginning with her years as a student. At 18, she began her concert career with a two-year contract at a Vienna talent agency. By the spring of 1990, her body was 'doing strange things,' and after collapsing on stage during a performance with the Houston symphony, she was diagnosed with MS. Her story traverses the long road of dealing with multiple health problems, her diagnosis of MS, the effect of the disease on her marriage, the death of her only child at the age of two from aortic stenosis, and the suicide of her husband. This book is an eloquent statement of her healing process, which, as she writes, 'has encompassed the physical and the spiritual, the alternative and the conventional.' Recommended for all consumer health collections."
--Library Journal, September 2007

"A 'masterpiece of desperate harmonies,' Notes from a Minor Key will captivate you from the very first sentence. Dawn Bailiff's book poignantly depicts life with multiple sclerosis, but because it is about so much more, its mainstream appeal could do more for MS awareness than any book I've ever read. This is a memoir of an extraordinary talent, of a half-Jewish, half-Japanese girl who played with Leonard Bernstein when she was just 10, who was accepted into the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University at the age of 15. It is also a passionate love story, a sublime tour de force, told seamlessly from dual perspectives. Despite endometriosis, cancer, MS, and piercing personal tragedy, Dawn's hands still evoke magic--a magic now conveyed through language, through words, 'as perfectly timed as arpeggios.' This book is unadulterated genius!"
--Christine Ratliff, editor of MSFocus, The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

"Edgy, confessional, nervy, dark, honest, spiritual, and validating—there are many words to describe Dawn Bailiff, but 'coward' is certainly not one of them.  Her work speaks volumes about debilitating disease, spinning a clear perspective on MS."
--The News Journal--Gannett

"Fascinating . . . deeply impressive . . . an ingenious use of dual perspective. Dawn Bailiff writes with style and great sensitivity."
--Colin Wilson, author, The Outsider and Beyond the Occult

"Every soul has its own music, and for Dawn Bailiff, it's an ongoing symphony of spirit and power. Her writing style is much like her music . . . driving, insightful, and soulful. Her words will lay open your mind to the great things that can be overcome and accomplished--from the perspective of one who has gone past belief into knowing. Follow her there, for it is the only way to fulfill the promise of life. Notes from a Minor Key will have you majoring in possibility."
--John St.Augustine, author of Living An Uncommon Life and creator/host of Power! Talk Radio

"Bailiff's clarity glistens--and cuts--like ice."
--Chicago Tribune

"Like a complex melody played by a deft hand, Notes from a Minor Key entices you into the story with an easy and accessible series of thematic hooks, and once you're deeply enmeshed in the melody it spins you around and around and takes you places you never expect to go. It's mind-opening, lovely, sexy, and utterly fascinating."
--Jonathan Maberry, author of Ghost Road Blues, winner of the 2006 Bram Stoker Award

"Her tiny fingers evoke magic . . ."
--London Times

"Her vision is one of transcendence--giving us a glimpse into something far greater than mere artists or even art."
--Eugene Ormandy

"Since the time of Job, men have asked:  'Are we on earth to suffer or to be happy?' Dawn Bailiff answers:  'We are here to do both--one does not cancel out the other.'  Notes from a Minor Key is the first-person account--told with cool, relentlessly honest self-appraisal--of someone who has suffered just about every sort of loss imaginable, from her own physical well-being to the people she held dearest, but has miraculously not lost her love of life itself. Her hard-won wisdom is something we would all do well to heed."
--Gerald Nicosia, author of Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac and Home to War

"Since I have a family member with MS, I understand how much courage it took for Dawn Bailiff to share the details of her illness. Her honest, eloquent portrayal will empower anyone who lives with a chronic illness--and will enlighten anyone who does not."
--Marisa de los Santos, critically acclaimed author of Love Walked In

"It is difficult to imagine anyone who wouldn't benefit from this beautifully written and thought-provoking memoir. Dawn Bailiff uses music as a metaphor for life. I highly recommend this book!"
--Greg Schauer, owner of Between Books, Claymont, DE

"Dawn's expression is magical and immediate. Her clear, feminine touch is powerful without being overpowering."
--Sir Georg Solti

"Dawn breathes life into the dead with percussive rhythms that tap into the pulse of life itself. Her passionate life-blood feeds the senses and the soul."
--Carlo Maria Guilini

"Thanks to the sharpness of her fine mind, she navigates the densest landscape with simplicity, bringing clarity to the ambiguous."
--Lorin Maazel

"Bailiff shines her penetrating, singular vision into the heart of the matter. She is a true genius, achieving what all artists hope to achieve but very few do: to uncover the complexity of the simple, to remove all that is unnecessary, to distill the essence of being alive and make it beautiful!"
--Alan Hovhaness

"Dawn Bailiff is simply a natural artist. For her, the level of artistry always comes first, and she is consistently able to sublimate her ego to the higher purpose of her calling. I expect great things from her."
--Shlomo Mintz

"Her interpretation expresses a maturity well beyond her years. Her touch is exquisite, yet powerful. Dare I say, she plays like a man--with the added benefit that she is not a man."
--Daniel Barenboim

"Her amazing gift for melody is only surpassed by her passion--exquisite."
--Die Welt (Berlin)

"Thanks to this phenomenal young powerhouse, my view of Chopin has changed forever."
--Los Angeles Examiner

"Like the work of most writers I admire, Bailiff's imagism is hard-edged and direct. I could actually hear the tearing pain in the rhythm of her words. I could even smell the blood."
--Carol Gunther, editor of Protea Poetry Journal

"Dawn Bailiff's story is deeply moving and evocative. Her precise and calculated choice of words transports the audience to the waiting room of her diagnosis. Her frustration and isolation as she comes to terms with her illness are real, courageous, and experienced by all who become transformed by the incredible journey of her prose."
--Adele Reardon, acquisitions librarian, Bear Public Library, member of American Library Association

"Reading Dawn Bailiff's Notes from a Minor Key not only makes me feel that the world has meaning, but that the world can be healed. She's a writer that needs to be read; she's a writer that influences ideas. Her literary music is a spiritual cry of relief. Nobody less than a genius could have written this book."
--D. S. Lliteras, author of The Master of Secrets

"Every life is a story, and yet not every being has the ability or resources to share these events in a cogent way with others. An excellent writer with a marvelous way with words, Dawn Bailiff has overcome great obstacles just to let you read the script her life has written. Read it; you will learn more about yourself."
--Jane Reichhold, author of Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-On Guide (Kodansha International)

"Although it was the particular task of my generation of poets to get direct statements of idea back into poetry--after they had been ruled out by Eliot, Pound, and Williams, in favor of concrete detail--only a very few writers can say anything original in terms of idea. Dawn Bailiff is one of those writers."
--W. D. Snodgrass

"Dawn Bailiff's work is in the spirit of the Wise Woman. I could definitely see her work being discussed around the campfires of the future (whatever they might be) as a genuine, honest, voice representing all women of our time."
--J. Greer, editor of Plains Poetry Journal

Book Excerpt

Excerpt: Embrace the Fear

Press Reviews/Articles

MS World Review

Book Review from About.com by Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D.