Tova Mirvis is an accomplished novelist, whose writings have appeared in many famous publications. She was also a member of the Modern Orthodox Jewish community for most of her life. In her memoir, Mirvis outlines the heartbreaking choices she faced in her struggle to live a truthful, good, authentic, and considered life. She describes the fear of not living up to not only familial expectations, but the requirements laid out by the community and religion she belonged to. Walking away from the rules and structure of this belief system felt like walking away from her very identity and worth as a person. It is brave to know one's own mind, even more so to declare independence for oneself. Well-written, even-handed, honest; I admired Mirvis for her empathy and insight towards all aspects of the story.

The Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims should get together b/c they have the same religion: be "good" enough and maybe God will love you. Not to mention Orthodox as re this author anyway, view Messiah as one who will institute yet more rules to live by instead of freeing you from "rules" under which you're laboring now, or does anybody else have a different read on this? Males a bit passive I thought, except rabbis.

Mirvis' memoir, centering on her divorce and separation from Orthodoxy, is clear-eyed and soul-baring. Maintaining a novelist's sensibility for storytelling, she opens herself as a character readers can relate to, even if their own path is very different. Highly recommended.