A riveting inspiring memoir of one woman's escape from an extremist religious sect and an
extraordinary rise from housewife to shoe designer to CEO and co-owner of the modeling agency
Elite World Group An irresistible read . . . Written with great intensity and rare candor
Brazen is a story of longing for more and manifesting that vision.-Tommy Hilfiger 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 dictates of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. At nineteen after a lifetime
spent caring for her seven younger siblings she was married off to a man she barely knew. For
the next twenty-three years her marriage would rule her life. Eventually when Haart's younger
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. She knew that if she didn't find a way to leave her daughters would be forced into the
same unending servitude that had imprisoned her. So Haart created a double life. In the
ultra-Orthodox world clothing has one purpose-to cover the body head to toe-and giving any
thought to one's appearance beyond that is considered sinful an affront to God. But when no
one was looking Haart would pore over fashion magazines and sketch designs for the clothes she
dreamed about wearing in the world beyond her Orthodox suburb. She started preparing for her
escape by educating herself and creating a freedom fund. At the age of forty-two she finally
mustered the courage to flee the fundamentalist life that was strangling her soul. Within a
week of her escape Haart founded a shoe brand and within nine months she was at Paris
Fashion Week. Just a few years later she was named creative director of La Perla. Soon she
would become co-owner and CEO of Elite World Group and one of the most powerful people in the
fashion industry. Along the way her four children-Batsheva Shlomo Miriam and Aron-have not
only accepted but embraced her transformation. 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.
