Unorthodox

On the day of its release, "Unorthodox" instantly topped the New York Times bestseller list and quickly sold out. A few months later, the print run surpassed the million mark. In the Hasidic Satmar community in Williamsburg, New York, the strictest rules of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group prevail worldwide. Deborah Feldman takes us to the limits of endurance as she recounts her strict submission to the harsh life laws, experiences of exclusion, poverty, the oppression of women, and her forced marriage. She shares the daily fear of being discovered and punished for forbidden actions. She tells how she finds unprecedented courage and immense strength to leave the community in order to provide her son with a life of freedom. Never before has an author described her liberation from the shackles of religious extremists so vividly and honestly.