[4] Tomasi was born with a disability and walked with a limp; she was taken to Burlington, Vermont, as a child for corrective surgery, which was partially successful.

[4] Her first novel, Deep Grow the Roots (1940), sold few copies but received positive reviews,[3] and earned her national recognition as an emerging writer.

[7] Set in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, it depicts the tragic effect of fascist militarism on the life of two young peasants, Luigi and Nina.

[4] Tomasi was one of ten new novelists selected that year by the American Booksellers Association and the New York Herald Tribune to be honored at the Hotel Astor.

[8] Writing in 1975, critic Alfred F. Rosa was unimpressed with the novel, citing problems with structure and pacing and describing the ending as "contrived.

[3] Although she published no more novels, Tomasi continued to write articles and short stories, and was active in the Poetry Society of Vermont.