Kissing Girls on Shabbat: A Memoir

Summary

A 2025 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION STONEWALL HONOR BOOK

In this “searing testament to the strength in claiming one’s destiny” (The Washington Post), a young woman desperately attempts to protect her children and family while also embracing her queer identity in a controlling Hasidic community. This memoir is perfect for fans of Unorthodox and Educated.

Growing up in the Hasidic community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Sara Glass knew one painful truth: what was expected of her and what she desperately wanted were impossibly opposed. Tormented by her attraction to women and trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, she ultimately could not conform to her religious upbringing and eventually made the difficult decision to walk away from the world she knew.

Sara’s journey to self-acceptance began with the battle for a divorce and custody of her children, an act that left her on the verge of estrangement from her family and community. Controlled by the fear of losing everything, she forced herself to remain loyal to the compulsory heteronormativity baked into Hasidic Judaism and married again. But after suffering profound loss and a shocking sexual assault, Sara decided to finally be completely true to herself.

Kissing Girls on Shabbat is both an unflinching window into the world of ultra-conservative Orthodox Jewish communities and an inspiring celebration of learning to love yourself that ultimately “leaves a mark” (Publishers Weekly).