[4] Deen's memoir, All Who Go Do Not Return, was published in 2015, and chronicles his transition from devout member of the Skver Hasidic sect to secular Jew.
[7][8] Deen is a regular columnist at The Forward, and writes widely on the intersection of Hasidic and secular life, including articles in the New Republic, Salon, and Tablet.
Even though his work is perceived to be critical of the Hasidic lifestyle and worldview,[9] he has appeared on Orthodox media, such as David Bashevkin's 18Forty podcast.
[11] Deen spent his early life among Satmar Hasidim in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn,[14] and joined the Skver Hasidic dynasty when he was a teenager, moving to the town of New Square, New York, the movement's headquarters, to settle after marriage.
[15] In 2005, Deen was expelled from New Square by its leaders for holding heretical views, and several years later, he divorced his wife and left the Hasidic lifestyle entirely.