Woman Of Valor

Originally published by Kineret: Zemorah-Bitan, in Hebrew as Eshet Chayil.
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-actualised 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.
Review:
This insightful and poignant novel, translated from Hebrew, follows two couples as they navigate the terrain of marriage and children. Lapid, who writes an advice column for a popular Israeli newspaper, shares her own story side by side with that of a fictional couple whom she terms the prince and princess. Both couples are desperately in love as they begin their marriages, but as their lives begin to grow more complicated with young children, financial stress, and social pressures, they lose sight of their original, pure goals and expectations. The painful downward spiral is told through a narrative that lacks dialogue but shares the innermost thoughts of husband and wife, and interweaves real letters from columnist Lapids readers facing similar issues. Individuals of all faiths will relate to the challenges inherent in marriage and raising children, and will certainly benefit from Lapids wake-up call to choose real-life happiness in a world of fairy-tale expectations. - Publisher's Weekly, November 2013 Jewish World reviewed Woman of Valor in January 2014. It allowed me to glimpse, if not outright fathom, the emotional lives of the important women in my life, as well as others I have met along the way. I realize that, like many men, I need to do a better job of understanding the stresses upon them and their very different psychological needs. Jewish Press reviewed this book in January 2104. Since 2003 Lihi Lapid, now a wife and a mother, has been writing a column for the Communications News Network. Woman of Valor focuses on her journey from ambitious young woman to marriage and motherhood, with an unsparing look at the bumps on the way, including the difficulties of raising a special needs child. The Lapids have an autistic daughter a source of much grief for the sensitive, devoted mother. And yet, her honesty and openness in describing her painful experience contributes valuable advice to her readers. Her generosity of spirit has helped many others on their own journey.