Review: Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman

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Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Chava Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this powerful biography in one sitting over Shabbat. Stein tells a story that's all too real, of someone who comes close to losing her religion, but finds solace and companionship with an understanding community of Jews who are open and accepting. She portrays a Hasidic community that's both beautiful in its celebrations and family connections, and ugly in its rejection of those who don't fit in. It could have been a tale of any closed religious community and belief system, whether in Williamsburg or Wyoming or Iran.

All communities are multi-faceted and multi-layered, and kudos to Stein for telling her story with love and an appreciation for what she had, what she left behind, and the life she's created for herself now.


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