Event Title:

Organization:

  Literary

  San Jose

Start Date:

  5/22/2025

End Date:

  5/22/2025

Start Time:

  7:00 PM

End Time:

  8:30 PM

Event Info: 

  Join Lani Santo, CEO of Footsteps, and Dr. Sara Glass, author of Kissing Girls on Shabbat, in a conversation on leaving ultra-Orthodoxy.

As we gear up towards Pride Month, the Oshman Family JCC is proud to partner with Footsteps to present this program.

Join us for a fireside chat with author Dr. Sara Glass and CEO of Footsteps, Lani Santo. We will discuss what it takes to make the complex journey towards an authentic and self-determined life after leaving ultra-Orthodoxy.

About the Book
A moving coming-of-age memoir in the vein of Unorthodox and Educated, about one young woman's desperate attempt to protect her children and family while also embracing her queer identity in a controlling Hasidic community.

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 found herself unable to conform to her religious upbringing and soon, she made the difficult decision to walk away from the world she knew.

Sara's journey to self-acceptance began with the challenging 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 custody of her two children, 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 not only a love letter to Glass's children, herself and her family-it is an unflinching window into the world of ultra-conservative Orthodox Jewish communities and an inspiring celebration of learning to love yourself.

http://www.paloaltojcc.org

Location:

  Arrillaga Family Pavilion (Bldg C) 1st Floor

Room:

Address:

  3921 Fabian Way

Phone:

  650-223-8700

City:

  Palo Alto

State/Province:

  CA