Explore the latest books of this year!
Bookbot

Shulem Deen

    Shulem Deen is the author of a memoir chronicling his journey growing up within and ultimately leaving one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the United States. His writing delves into profound themes of identity, faith, and the search for belonging in a world often defined by rigid boundaries. As a former blogger and founding editor of an online journal for voices on the Hasidic fringe, Deen critically examines the complexities faced by individuals navigating the difficult path away from a deeply rooted religious community. His work offers powerful insights into the psychological and social landscapes of leaving such a world and the subsequent quest for personal autonomy and self-discovery.

    Shulem Deen
    All Who Go Do Not Return
    • All Who Go Do Not Return

      • 310 pages
      • 11 hours of reading

      A moving and revealing exploration of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and one man's loss of faith Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world—only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at eighteen is arranged and several children soon follow. Deen's first transgression—turning on the radio—is small, but his curiosity leads him to the library, and later the Internet. Soon he begins a feverish inquiry into the tenets of his religious beliefs, until, several years later, his faith unravels entirely. Now a heretic, he fears being discovered and ostracized from the only world he knows. His relationship with his family at stake, he is forced into a life of deception, and begins a long struggle to hold on to those he loves most: his five children. In All Who Go Do Not Return, Deen bravely traces his harrowing loss of faith, while offering an illuminating look at a highly secretive world.

      All Who Go Do Not Return
      4.3