Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

Deborah Feldman grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn, New York. It is the strictest and most conservative branch of modern Judaism: in the community it is forbidden to read non-religious books, speak English, wear modern clothing, use the internet, receive a secular education, watch films, or attend theater and the library. All areas of life for members of the community (and especially for women) are tightly regulated by religious rules; the laws of the secular state hardly matter.

At seventeen, Deborah was married to a man she had known for only half an hour—no surprise that the marriage brought no happiness. When she became a mother at nineteen, she realized that now not only her future and freedom were at stake. She decided to change her life completely. She made an escape plan, gradually expanding her world: she read secular literature in English, learned to drive a car, entered university, and eventually left the community. Today, Deborah Feldman is a writer. She lives in Berlin with her son. Her autobiography became a worldwide bestseller and served as the basis for the acclaimed Netflix series “Unorthodox” (Unorthodox).