Leah Lax

Leah Lax is an American author and librettist.[1] She is best known for her memoir Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home which was later created as an opera with composer Lori Laitman.[2][3]

Leah Lax
Born1956 (age 66–67)
Alma materUniversity of Houston
MFA, Creative Writing
Website
leahlaxauthor.com

Biography

Lax was born in 1956 in Dallas, Texas. She joined the Lubavitcher Hasidim at sixteen.[4] In 1975, Lax entered an arranged marriage at the age of 19,[5] and remained among the Hasidim for thirty years, bearing seven children.[6] In 2002 she left the community to lead a secular life and live openly as a lesbian.[7] Subsequently, Lax graduated from the University of Houston with an MFA in Creative Writing.[8] She had completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin.[4]

Career

Her interest in writing started while reading anthologies by feminist and lesbian poet Adrienne Rich.[8] Lax started writing in earnest after she underwent a secret abortion to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy.[9] In 2007 Lax co-wrote The Refuge for the Houston Grand Opera with composer Christopher Theofanidis debuted at Houston's Wortham Center.[10] In 2013, she created and designed Houston's In Concert Against Hate for the Houston Symphony In collaboration with the Anti-Defamation League,[11] In 2020, Lax created an opera Uncovered with composer Lori Laitman and director/dramatist Beth Greenberg.[3] Lax wrote the libretto based on her memoir Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home,[12] narrating thirty years as a Hasidic wife, mother, and closeted lesbian.[13][14]

Uncovered was named Redbook Magazine's "Best of 2015".[15]

References
  1. Villalpando, Nicole. "How Leah Lax left Hasidism, came out as a lesbian and wrote a book". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  2. "Leah Lax Biography". Potsdam. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  3. White, Emily (March 31, 2022). "Utah State opera premieres "Uncovered"". The Utah Statesman. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  4. Marloff, Sarah (February 16, 2016). "Uncovering Leah Lax". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  5. Galehouse, Maggie (August 28, 2015). "After decades as Hasidic Jew, gay Houston author Leah Lax writes new life". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. "'Off the Path' Memoirs of ex-Hasidic Jews Shine Light on Faigy Mayer's World". Haaretz. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. Pfefferman, Naomi (September 2, 2015). "Author Leah Lax: A lesbian girl in an Orthodox world". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. Himmelstein, Drew (July 8, 2016). "Author to speak in S.F. about her adios to Hasidic world". JWeekly. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  9. "Off the path: Ex-Hasid memoirs shine a spotlight on Faigy Mayer's world". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  10. Blumenthal, Ralph (November 12, 2007). "Not From Here: An Opera for Houston's Immigrants". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. "ADL awes audience in centennial celebration". Jewish Herald-Voice. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  12. "USU Opera Premieres 'Uncovered'". Utah State Today. March 30, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. Enszer, Julie R. (October 8, 2015). "'Uncovered: How I left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home' by Leah Lax". Lambda Literary Foundation. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  14. "Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home | Jewish Book Council". Jewish Book Council. 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. "The 20 Best Books By Women in 2015". Redbook. December 29, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2022.


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