Woman of Valor: A Novel - Hardcover

Lihi Lapid

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9652296406 ISBN 13: 9789652296405

Publisher: Gefen Publishing House, 2013

Synopsis

This book begins where most love stories leave off: at the beginning of real life. The transition from being a young couple in love to a couple of parents is laden with higher expectations than ever before in history, especially for women. Today's woman expects to be the perfect wife, mother, career woman, self-actualized human being, and homemaker, all while remaining a size six. The idyllic picture that hangs on the wall of our hopes and dreams can't help but be marred by the ugly scratches of reality, and in this pressure-cooker environment, we re all too familiar with the resulting divorce statistics.

This book follows the lives of two women in their first years of motherhood. One is a fictional character trying to live the happily-ever-after life we all imagined for ourselves. The second woman is the author herself, relating her real life story. It s a story of metamorphosis, from independent working woman to mother, helpless in the face of the discovery that there's something wrong with her small daughter something very seriously wrong. Interspersed are actual letters from readers of Lapid's popular newspaper column about women's lives, sharing their experiences of juggling their many roles.

In trenchant, thoughtful, and often laugh-out-loud funny prose, Lihi Lapid tells a true-life story of women and men struggling to live up to modern pressures: a story about shattered dreams, and about finding the strength to gather up the pieces and to learn to smile again.

About this title

About the Author

Lihi Lapid is an author and journalist whose books and weekly column deal with contemporary women's issues. She publishes a weekly newspaper column in the Yediot Ahronot weekend supplements. She has written two bestselling novels, Secrets from Within and Woman of Valor, a cookbook entitled Lihi Lapid's Favorite Recipes, and a bestselling children's book, The Magic Whisper. Prior to becoming a writer, Ms. Lapid was a professional photographer. Educated at the prestigious Camera Obscura School of Art and Tel Aviv University, she served in the Israel Defense Forces as a photographer for its Bamachane magazine. She lives with her husband, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid, and their two children in Tel Aviv.

Review

Lihi Lapid s second novel, Woman of Valor, puts women characters front and center. Taking the title of her book from the passage in the Book of Proverbs, Lapid writes about a woman s greatest job in life motherhood. The traditional poem describes the woman of valor as one who is energetic, righteous and capable. Lapid questions beliefs about a woman s role in modern society, probes stereotypes and examines the lies parents tell their daughters. Through her own story, and that of others, she tells a tale of everyday battles a woman goes through.... This novel is not meant to be a feministic battle cry but rather a book about a day in the life of a woman in contemporary Israel. --The Jerusalem Post

Penetrating and wise, deeply moving, Woman of Valor exposes the inner world of mothers in our generation with rare sensitivity and candor. You ll think it was written about you. --Dr. Aliza Lavie, MP, author of the award-winning A Jewish Woman s Prayer Book

Woman of Valor is a touching and rocking novel that bravely and honestly describes the loneliness of a woman between her husband and children; between her youthful dreams and day-to-day reality; between dedicating oneself to others and trying to fulfill a woman's promise to herself, to whom she was; to whom she wants to be" . --Zeruya Shalev

About this edition

• Publisher: Gefen Publishing House
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 9652296406
• ISBN 13: 9789652296405
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 202