Very good book. daughter is on the street, drugs, 3 abortions, Mother expects to find her one day in the back alley with overdose. daughter goes to Israel with a boy and gets involved into a Jewish religious cult. Mother is educated, women's rights advocate and has a difficult time with her daughter giving up "all her self and her "rights" to be in this religious cult. The mother has a difficult time choosing "which is more important--living according to religious cult rules, getting married, having 12 kids, all about taking care of husband and family...or freedom of the open world--where the daughter was "lost". very good book ( )

A young American woman feels alienated and lost in 1980's America. Rebellious against her feminist mother, after trying drugs, promiscuity and other alternative lifestyles finds herself in Jerusalem joining a ultra-right-wing religious women's yeshiva. A place that will train her to marry and bear many children. Is this yeshiva a cult? Is Andrea spiritually and morally corrupt because of her mother's influence? ( )

This book started off a bit slowly for me, but in the end I was surprised how much I enjoyed it -- the story of a feminist, secular Jewish woman's grief over her daughter's decision to join a Jerusalem yeshiva. What made the book good was Roiphe's ability to portray both "sides" with sensitivity and compassion. Definitely a worthwhile read. ( )