Woman of Valor is not a traditional novel. If forced to characterize it, I would call it a cross between a self-help book and a fairytale written from a realistic perspective for modern times. It is also a uniquely Israeli and realistic look at marriage and parenthood from an author who has had two different successful careers — first as a photographer and now as a writer — and who is the mother of two children, one of whom is autistic.
What makes the book uniquely Israeli and interesting is the collective voice included here. Lapid has been a newspaper columnist in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot for the past ten years. She is the only woman to write a column addressed to women in Israel, and she includes in the book letters she received from her readers. The effect of the letters is to create a communal space in the book, in which all the women are undergoing the experiences of being mothers and wives together. As one reader, Daphna, puts it, “My little worries are those of every mother, wife, and woman. As special as I am, I’m just like everyone else. There is something comforting and at the same time diminishing in this recognition.”
Each chapter opens with a Biblical verse, underscoring the connectedness of the lives of present-day women and their struggles with those of the past. Highly recommended for those coping with the demands of having young children at home and forging a career path, and for those who love women with those challenges and seek to understand what they are going through.
