Stock up with our Shop Small Sale! Shop the sale
Brazen by Julia Haart
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Collage of audiobooks

Shop Small Sale

Shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks. Don’t miss out—purchases support local bookstores.

Shop the sale
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Brazen

My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie

$22.50

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Julia Haart

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 19 hours 11 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

Summary

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.

*Includes a downloadable PDF containing photos and end notes from the book

Collage of audiobooks

Shop Small Sale

Shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks. Don’t miss out—purchases support local bookstores.

Shop the sale
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Reviews

“Through her poignant memoir, Julia Haart shows readers that it’s the journey rather than the destination that will fulfill us. Written with great intensity and rare candor, Brazen is a story of longing for more and manifesting that vision. While deeply personal, it reveals universal truths about humanity and womanhood. . . . An irresistible read.”—Tommy Hilfiger

“Julia Haart is a hustler. Her story is an inspiring, believe-in-your-dreams, never-give-up, anything-in-life-is-possible story of hope. She is a very smart businesswoman who also loves women! Run, don’t walk, to get this book!”—Lisa Rinna

“Julia Haart lives her life with an exhilarating fervor that’s contagious to anyone lucky enough to be around her. Never willing to accept the status quo, she has time and again fought for her place in the world and demanded her seat at the table. As a woman and business owner, I’m incredibly inspired by her stories, which are always told with candor, honesty, and heart. This book is a must-read!”—Coco Rocha Expand reviews
Stock up with our Shop Small Sale! Shop the sale