NEW YORK (JTA) — Eishes Chayil, the pseudonym used by the author of the young adult novel “Hush,” has revealed her real name as Judy Brown.
The revelation in an essay in the Huffington Post comes 10 months after the publication of the fictional tale about sexual abuse in a Brooklyn Chasidic community. Brown, whose pseudonym means "woman of valor," lives in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, which has a large Chasidic population.
Since the release of "Hush," Brown has received numerous threats through her publisher for writing on the subject.
Brown was inspired to come forward with her identity following the high-profile murder of Leiby Kletzky, an 8-year-old Chasidic boy from Borough Park, in mid-July. She had kept her name a secret in order to protect her friends and family from community retribution.
Her hope is that the revelation of her identity will sway the Chasidic community to change its culture of denial when it comes to the existence of abusers in their midst.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
