Chutzpah - A memoir of faith, sexuality and daring to stay

As the daughter of a Rabbi raised in an Orthodox Jewish community, Yehudis struggled to conform to the strict code that was expected of her and her siblings. Outspoken, curious, and desperate to know more about G-d, her life felt fenced in by arbitrary rules and questions left unanswered. As she grew older, these restrictions intensified and her questions for G-d hung heavier than ever. Repeatedly let down by those who were supposed to protect her and pushed onto a path that seemed to take her further away from who she really was, she began to yearn for a life where she could embrace all facets of herself. When Yehudis'' sexuality came to blows with the expectations of her family and her community, the pressure to inhabit a binary position reached fever pitch. Confronted with either losing the faith she loved or losing herself, Yehudis made the most daring decision of all. She decided to stay. Wry and exhilarating Chutzpah is a fearless exploration of what is possible when one person simply refuses to choose between abandoning their roots and abandoning themselves.

About the author

A writer, an activist, a scholar and a change-maker, Yehudis Fletcher holds a social policy degree and is the founder of the think tank Nahamu, which campaigns for the right to assert civil liberties within orthodox Jewish communities and works to outlaw practices such as forced marriage and the covering up of sexual abuse.

Yehudis’s activism has earned her audiences both within and outside Jewish communities, extending to allies in wider circles of activism in the South Asian, Black and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as in education, legal and media spaces, among others.

Product details

• Authors: Yehudis Fletcher
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 22.05.2025
• EAN: 9780857529954
• ISBN: 978-0-85752-995-4
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 145 mm x 224 mm x 27 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Jewish, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Religious, Memoirs, Of specific Lesbian interest, Jewish Studies, Relating to lesbians, Gay & Lesbian studies, Autobiography: religious & spiritual, Autobiography: religious and spiritual, Religious aspects of sexuality, gender and relationships, Relating to Jewish people and groups, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / LGBTQ+, Religious aspects of sexuality, gender & relationships, LGBTQ+ topics: coming out, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs