[2] After her mother's death when she was 13 years old, Davidman began to question her religious upbringing, which caused a divide between her and her family.
[5] In this position, Davidman collaborated with Shelly Tenenbaum to co-author Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies through the Yale University Press.
[8] She was shortly thereafter promoted to associate professor and began writing her following book, Growing Up Motherless: Stories of Lives Interrupted.
The result of her lengthy research showed a common theme of feeling left out and religion not providing comfort in the face of loss.
[11] At the University of Kansas, Davidman conducted another research-based book titled Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews, where she surveyed 40 men and women born into ultra-Orthodox Hasidic communities who had become secular.