Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots
reminded me of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress for its insider’s view at an ultra-conservative religious community, in this case Hasidic, in which the author grows up abandoned in various ways by her parents and raised by her grandparents. The list of what is not allowed is long, starting with reading books, which she borrows from the library anyway and stashes under her mattress. Her role as a woman is to be married and have lots of children so her education is painfully curtailed. After dutifully marrying and bearing a son, she escapes her marriage and her community — so no funny stories as in the Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and no tenderness towards or from her family, making for a sad and even bitter story.
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