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A review by eleanor_hadassah96
Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home by Leah Lax
3.0
I found Uncovered more interesting than memoirs in the style of Unorthodox, as Lax was born into a secular Jewish family and chose to join Hasidic Judaism, in which she remained for 30 years before leaving. I appreciated the unflinching honesty of the author when dealing with extremely difficult and personal matters such as sexual abuse and abortion. I also enjoyed the insight into how she raised her seven children in the community. I found the author to be a sympathetic character, but also had empathy for figures such as her husband Levi. I also found the wider message of the text, about how one reconciles contradictory aspects of one’s life story and psyche, to be quite profoundly worded. Lax is definitely a seeker, and for that I admire her.
There were however certain aspects of the story I would have liked more insight into, mostly concerning the author’s Baalas teshuva process. The telling of the earlier parts of her story is coloured by the retrospective knowledge that in the end it doesn’t work out, which I felt hindered my understanding of her decision making. Did she really think it was a good idea to marry a man after one date without making any enquiries? Obviously the narrative is from Lax’s perspective, but I felt that the honesty would have been aided if she had touched more upon the earlier decisions which she regretted. I was also a little sceptical that the situation at the end resolved itself as neatly as she stated that it did, with all her very different children accepting her. Nonetheless overall this was a highly interesting memoir which I will remember for a while.
There were however certain aspects of the story I would have liked more insight into, mostly concerning the author’s Baalas teshuva process. The telling of the earlier parts of her story is coloured by the retrospective knowledge that in the end it doesn’t work out, which I felt hindered my understanding of her decision making. Did she really think it was a good idea to marry a man after one date without making any enquiries? Obviously the narrative is from Lax’s perspective, but I felt that the honesty would have been aided if she had touched more upon the earlier decisions which she regretted. I was also a little sceptical that the situation at the end resolved itself as neatly as she stated that it did, with all her very different children accepting her. Nonetheless overall this was a highly interesting memoir which I will remember for a while.