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Mora Leeb walks through the doorway on a recent October afternoon with an energetic bounce. She stretches out her left arm for a hug. "Hi!" she says with a bright smile, turning to a table in front of her where a loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread is wrapped in tinfoil.
Before cutting into the bread, which she baked for the occasion, she has a joke for her visitor: “What do you call a writer that doesn’t follow sentence structure?” she asks. Much of her speech is slow, deliberate, almost robotic. Then the punch line tumbles out: “A rebel without a clause!” She follows with a laugh, and soon she’s dealing cards for a round of UNO!, which she plays (and wins) while munching on pumpkin bread.
It’s a charming but otherwise unexceptional introduction to this 16-year-old from South Orange, N.J., until you understand the underlying triumph of the moment. Each ordinary action— walking, talking, reading a recipe, dealing cards, joking—has required painstaking practice to learn.
This story is from the December 11, 2023 edition of People US.
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This story is from the December 11, 2023 edition of People US.
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