A moving coming-of-age memoir in the vein of Unorthodox and Educated, about one young woman’s desperate attempt to protect her children and family while also embracing her queer identity in a controlling Hasidic community. Growing up in the Hasidic community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Sara Glass knew one painful truth: what was expected of her and what she desperately wanted were impossibly opposed. Tormented by her attraction to women and trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, she found herself unable to conform to her religious upbringing and soon, she made the difficult decision to walk away from the world she knew.
Sara’s journey to self-acceptance began with the challenging battle for a divorce and custody of her children, an act that left her on the verge of estrangement from her family and community. Controlled by the fear of losing custody of her two children, she forced herself to remain loyal to the compulsory heteronormativity baked into Hasidic Judaism and married again. But after suffering profound loss and a shocking sexual assault, Sara decided to finally be completely true to herself.
Kissing Girls on Shabbat is not only a love letter to Glass’s children, herself, and her family—it is an unflinching window into the world of ultra-conservative Orthodox Jewish communities and an inspiring celebration of learning to love yourself.
A sharp and poignant memoir of self-love, faith, and the radical joy of escape from a life defined by expectation Sara Glass grew up as Malka, a devout, obedient member of New York's Hasidic community. Her friends and family brought her love and purpose, but Sara became all too aware of the limitations into which she was born. Her loveless arranged marriage made it clear: she would live a life devoted to childbearing, keeping house, and managing her emotionally unstable husband. But inside, Sara held a secret-her queer identity, finally acknowledged after a chance meeting with a captivating young woman. Split between familial expectations at home and freedom unlike any she'd felt before, Sara embarked on a rocky journey to self-acceptance that would see her go head-to-head with her faith. Tormented by the looming threat of losing her two precious children, a profound loss and shocking trauma forces her to look inward and realize that she must live a fully honest life, not just for herself, but for her son and daughter. In this stunning story of resilience, identity, and righteous rebellion, Sara takes us with her as she seizes control of her life, sheds exploitative tradition, and embraces the bliss of real pleasure for the first time. Kissing Girls on Shabbat is a love letter to Sara's children, a truthful and nuanced window into one woman's experience of all-encompassing religious devotion, and an inspiring celebration of loving oneself, bravely, at any cost.
