Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots Deborah Feldman , Katalin Getto (Translator) (audiobook)

 genre: memoir

Deborah's upbringing in the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism meant that she grew up with a LOT of rules.  Rules about what to wear, what to eat, what to listen to, read - all the minutiae of her life was spelled out for her.  And while it was familiar, it also chafed, and as she grew up she knew she was "different" in the sense that none of this felt natural.   Following the general timeline of her people, she married very young and only then does Deborah start to really understand the implications of continuing to live an actively Satmar life.  But how does one even go about creating a change in that circumstance?

I read (listened to this) so quickly.  I was fascinated (and sometimes horrified) by her life experiences and by the sorts of things that a group of people can even make rules ABOUT. I know enough about the Jewish community to feel comfortable with the vocabulary and the context but I didn't know much about this sect at all.  I sort of wish I could give this book two ratings - I'd give it a 3 for the writing itself (which is fine and well-edited but sometimes skips big chunks of time and isn't particularly literarily amazing) but for the story, I'd give it five stars, it kept me so interested.  

I'm late to the game on this book but I'd imagine there is a ton of push back and accusations of either lies or half-truths, as a part of a high-demand religion myself, I know how this stuff goes.  However, I choose to believe in her experience as true for HER and her feelings and conclusions get to be her own based on her own inner life.  I don't ever believe a memoir is TRUTH with a capital T.  But for what this is, I found it a fast and fascinating read about someone's journey away from the intense religion they were born into and how they found their way to the other side.