Leaving Eastern Parkway a novel

When family tragedy strikes, Zev Altshul's life in Brooklyn's Hasidic Lubavitcher community is upended. Initially cared for by the close-knit community where he grew up, he soon realizes he cannot stay. Handball becomes his refuge—a gift he relies on as he is shuttled, chased, and abandoned by elders, family, and friends. Driven by guilt over his choices, Zev travels across the United States searching for his long-lost sister and seeking to understand where loyalty truly lies. He discovers himself unprepared for life outside the Lubavitcher community and unwilling to remain within it. Playing handball to support himself in the wider world, Zev finds that obligations he doesn't fully understand still bind him to Crown Heights, following him to Chicago and New Mexico and threatening to pull him back to life among the Lubavitchers.