Perhaps she is incapable of showing weakness to the world, allowing for true culpability, and for us as her audience to view her as less than amazing in every way. Julia does make choices that I view as cruel, and she does not show any remorse or regret for them. The closest she gets is when she tells us that she went wrong because she “ignored her inner voice” or “trusted the wrong people,” the kind of false answer one gives an interviewer who asks you what your greatest weakness is. While Julia does grapple mightily with guilt, it is all guilt inspired by religion, never because she acknowledges that a choice she made, of her own free will, was actually wrong. Other memoirs focused on exiting fundamentalist communities such as Educated by Tara Westover, Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper and All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen show a level of self-awareness that Julia does not possess. Julia does not acknowledge character flaws in this memoir- which makes it very different from the style of memoir I like best. My very existence is a serious threat” (VIII). In her words, “My story doesn’t fit the narrative of anyone who wants to use religion as an excuse to make women subservient to men. Julia views herself as a role model for women, and believes that she is “dangerous” because she is a “woman who left and not only survived but succeeded” (VIII). She also decided to achieve it through choosing to parent in a fundamentally different manner from how her parents chose to parent- leading her to become enmeshed with her children. She decided to achieve it through shining in every other possible way- through maintaining her physical beauty, cooking delectable dishes and becoming a renowned Judaic Studies teacher. This is the story of a woman who did not experience parental love or spousal love and strongly desired validation and love. She comes across as the intelligent, creative woman that was stifled within the confines of her repressive community. Upon reading the book, I was far more sympathetic to Julia Haart than I had been when watching the show. However, the act of writing reveals more truths than we intend. Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie is the much-awaited memoir by Julia Haart, star of Netflix show ‘My Unorthodox Life.’ The book is billed as a triumphant feminist story of a woman who escaped a fundamentalist community- the ultra-Orthodox yeshivish world- to the freedom of modern, secular America.
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