Top 8 Quotes by Deborah Feldman

I am hungry for power, but not to lord over others; only to own myself.

I am hungry for power, but not to lord over others; only to own myself.

Hungry, Lord

Deborah Feldman (2012). “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”, p.87, Simon and Schuster

I can't bear the thought of living an entire lifetime on this planet and not getting to do all the things I dream of doing, simply because they aren't allowed. I don't think it will ever be enough, this version of freedom, until it is all-inclusive. I don't think I can be happy unless I'm truly independent.

Deborah Feldman

Dream, Independent, Thinking

Deborah Feldman (2012). “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”, p.229, Simon and Schuster

If my mind cannot be tied down, if my dreams cannot be diminished, then no amount of restraints can really guarantee my quiet submission.

Deborah Feldman

Dream, Mind, Guarantees

Deborah Feldman (2012). “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”, p.236, Simon and Schuster

As far as I can remember, I have always wanted everything from life, everything it can possibly give me. This desire separates me from people who are willing to settle for less. I cannot even comprehend how people's desires can be small, ambitions narrow and limited, when the possibilities are endless

Deborah Feldman

Ambition, People, Giving

Deborah Feldman (2012). “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”, p.2, Simon and Schuster

Some people simply use their faith as a lexicon of behavioral reasoning; without that they would be forced to face their own moral and ethical failings honestly according to a secular code of right and wrong.

Deborah Feldman

People, Would Be, Lexicon

Deborah Feldman (2014). “Exodus: A Memoir”, p.75, Penguin

I resolve to venture into the city on my own. I look at maps in the library—subway maps, bus maps, and regular maps—and try to memorize them. I’m afraid of getting lost; no, I’m afraid of sinking into the city as in a quicksand, afraid of getting sucked into something I can never escape.

Deborah Feldman

Cities, Trying, Library

If you are forced to confront your fears on a daily basis, they disintegrate, like illusions when viewed up close. Maybe being always protected made me more fearful, and I would later dip cautiously into the outside world, never allowing myself to be submerged completely, and always jerking back into the familiarity of my own life when my senses were overwhelmed. For years I would stand with a foot in each sphere, drawn to the exotic universe that lay on the other side of the portal, wrenched back by the warnings that sounded like alarm bells in my mind.

Deborah Feldman

Fear, Years, Feet

Deborah Feldman (2012). “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”, p.117, Simon and Schuster