

The first part of the book is pretty solid, but as the book goes on you start going "Mmm I dunno if that actually happened. I give the first 2/3 of the book 3.75 stars and the last third 2.5 stars. Propulsive and unforgettable, Haart's story is the journey from a world of 'no' to a world of 'yes', and an inspiration for women everywhere to find their freedom, their purpose and their voice. Along the way, her four children - Batsheva, Shlomo, Miriam and Aron - have not only accepted but embraced her transformation. Soon she would become co-owner and CEO of Elite World Group and one of the most powerful people in fashion. Just a few years later, she was named creative director of La Perla. Within a week of her escape, Haart founded a shoe brand, and within nine months, she was at Paris Fashion Week. At the age of forty-two, she finally mustered the courage to flee.

She started preparing for her escape by educating herself and creating a 'freedom' fund. But when no one was looking, Haart would pour over fashion magazines and sketch designs for the clothes she dreamed about wearing in the world beyond her Orthodox suburb. In the ultra- Orthodox world, clothing has one purpose - to cover the body, head to toe - and giving any more thought than that to one's appearance is considered sinful, an affront to God. She knew that if she didn't find a way to leave, her daughters would be forced into the same unending servitude. Eventually, when Haart's youngest daughter, Miriam, started to innocently question why she wasn't allowed to sing in public, run in shorts, or ride a bike without being covered from neck to knee, Haart reached a breaking point. For the next twenty-three years, her marriage would rule her life. At nineteen, after a lifetime spent caring for her seven younger siblings, she was married off to a man she barely knew. Ever since she was a child, every aspect of Julia Haart's life - what she wore, what she ate, what she thought - was controlled by the rules of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Julia Haart tells the story of her extraordinary journey, from leaving an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to her rise from housewife to shoe designer, to CEO and co-owner of the modelling agency Elite World Group. From the star of Netflix's My Unorthodox Life, a riveting, inspiring memoir.


