Chutzpah
A memoir of faith, sexuality and daring to stay
Published on 22. May 2025
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-85752-995-4 (ISBN)
Description
Wry and exhilarating, Chutzpah is a fearless exploration of what is possible when one person simply refuses to choose between abandoning their roots and abandoning themselves.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 WINGATE PRIZE
"Clear-sighted and courageous, with an extremely dry sense of humour"
DAVID BADDIEL, author of Jews Don't Count
"Delightfully written: wry, moving, controlled, with a great instinct for pace and telling detail"
TLS
"A gutting, brave story, written with exquisite candour."
Dr. Sara Glass, author of Kissing Girls on Shabbat
Yehudis Fletcher was six years old when she decided to find out if there was actually a G-d.
One Sabbath evening, she dared to defy a fundamental rule. She didn't wash her hands before breaking bread. At the table, Yehudis braced herself for a terrible, biblical punishment: being swallowed by the ground or consumed by fire. But nothing happened.
It was at this moment that she discovered a spark within that would grow to make her invincible.
As the daughter of a rabbi raised in an Orthodox Jewish community, Yehudis struggled to conform to the strict expectations placed upon her and her siblings. Outspoken, curious and desperate to know more about G-d, she felt fenced in by arbitrary rules and questions left unanswered.
As she grew older, these restrictions intensified and her questions for G-d hung heavier than ever. Repeatedly let down by those who were supposed to protect her and pushed on to a path that seemed to take her further away from who she really was, she began to yearn for a life where she could embrace all facets of herself.
When Yehudis's sexuality came to blows with the expectations of her family and her community, the pressure to inhabit a binary position reached fever pitch. Confronted with either losing the faith she loved or losing herself, Yehudis made the most daring decision of all: she decided to stay.
"Chutzpah is a brilliant and fascinating insight into an ultra-orthodox Jewish community."
Harriet Wistrich, author of Sister in Law
"Yehudis's resilience is truly inspirational."
Ashley Blaker, author of Normal Schmormal
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 WINGATE PRIZE
"Clear-sighted and courageous, with an extremely dry sense of humour"
DAVID BADDIEL, author of Jews Don't Count
"Delightfully written: wry, moving, controlled, with a great instinct for pace and telling detail"
TLS
"A gutting, brave story, written with exquisite candour."
Dr. Sara Glass, author of Kissing Girls on Shabbat
Yehudis Fletcher was six years old when she decided to find out if there was actually a G-d.
One Sabbath evening, she dared to defy a fundamental rule. She didn't wash her hands before breaking bread. At the table, Yehudis braced herself for a terrible, biblical punishment: being swallowed by the ground or consumed by fire. But nothing happened.
It was at this moment that she discovered a spark within that would grow to make her invincible.
As the daughter of a rabbi raised in an Orthodox Jewish community, Yehudis struggled to conform to the strict expectations placed upon her and her siblings. Outspoken, curious and desperate to know more about G-d, she felt fenced in by arbitrary rules and questions left unanswered.
As she grew older, these restrictions intensified and her questions for G-d hung heavier than ever. Repeatedly let down by those who were supposed to protect her and pushed on to a path that seemed to take her further away from who she really was, she began to yearn for a life where she could embrace all facets of herself.
When Yehudis's sexuality came to blows with the expectations of her family and her community, the pressure to inhabit a binary position reached fever pitch. Confronted with either losing the faith she loved or losing herself, Yehudis made the most daring decision of all: she decided to stay.
"Chutzpah is a brilliant and fascinating insight into an ultra-orthodox Jewish community."
Harriet Wistrich, author of Sister in Law
"Yehudis's resilience is truly inspirational."
Ashley Blaker, author of Normal Schmormal
Reviews / Votes
Yehudis Fletcher is an original thinker armed with clear-sightedness, courage and an extremely dry sense of humour. Her story, written reflections and advocacy have the ability to change communities for the better and empower those who need a roadmap to challenge the lives they've been conditioned to live.' * David Baddiel, author of Jews Don't Count * Chutzpah is a brilliant and fascinating insight into an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. Yehudis Fletcher's story is at the same time painful and inspiring. Despite resistance, she has dared to remain, forging a path for a more enlightened approach to observing Orthodox religion. * Harriet Wistrich, author of Sister in Law * A gutting, brave story, written with exquisite candour. Fletcher reaches past the printed page, into the hearts of readers. Chutzpah is a crucial narrative, a story that lifts the shadows off topics that are rarely explored. * Dr. Sara Glass, author of Kissing Girls on Shabbat * A testament to the human will to overcome unimaginable torment. Yehudis's resilience is truly inspirational. Her story will empower so many people. * Ashley Blaker, author of Normal Schmormal * Yehudis Fletcher writes compellingly...frank and uncensored...Few are like Fletcher and have the courage to seek a different way. * The Jewish Chronicle * A beautiful piece of work; I'm so glad this book exists. -- Nicole Taylor, BAFTA winning screenwriter of One Day. Delightfully written: wry, moving, controlled, with a great instinct for pace and telling detail...Chutzpah! dispels notions of either in or out; it exists in a fertile grey area of faith, spirituality and individual hermeneutics. As such, it is a very Jewish book - and Yehudis Fletcher, in writing it, is a jolly good fellow indeed. * TLS *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 217 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
398 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-85752-995-4 (9780857529954)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2025
Transworld Digital
€9.99
Available for download
Person
A writer, an activist, a scholar and a change-maker, Yehudis Fletcher holds a social policy degree and is the founder of the think tank Nahamu, which campaigns for the right to assert civil liberties within orthodox Jewish communities and works to outlaw practices such as forced marriage and the covering up of sexual abuse.
Yehudis's activism has earned her audiences both within and outside Jewish communities, extending to allies in wider circles of activism in the South Asian, Black and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as in education, legal and media spaces, among others.
Yehudis's activism has earned her audiences both within and outside Jewish communities, extending to allies in wider circles of activism in the South Asian, Black and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as in education, legal and media spaces, among others.