"A thoroughly enjoyable novel, both moving and astutely farcical." – Kirkus Reviews A secret society, magical chicken soup, and a young girl, wise beyond her years When Rachel Cohen is born, her parents’ marriage begins to crack. As she grows, and her village teeters on the brink, it is up to her and The Council of Wise Women to cook up a plan and step in. Family breakdowns, a village on the edge of famine, and the challenges of a beloved community… How much meddling is too much? With a warm sense of humor, Izzy Abrahmson spins a delightful tale of The Village Life that will make you smile, and maybe shed a tear. A spellbinding novel of love, loss, independence, reconciliation, and the power of women. You won’t want this book to end. "…[a] playful touch throughout, painting characters who leap off the page. Chelm’s wise women are delightful and perceptive, their conversations a joy to read… a beautiful testament to tradition and values." – Publishers Weekly "If you’re looking for a warm and cozy read that can also make you laugh out loud and brighten your mood, look no further than The Council of Wise Women… Although the novel is steeped in Jewish history and heritage, the humor is universal and can be enjoyed by readers from all cultures. Between the pages of Abrahmson's latest book can be found an unforgettable cast of characters and a story that hits on both their hearts and funny bones.… "Abrahmson has a marvelous ability to touch on unspoken truths and push them several steps farther into the realm of the ridiculous, sparing readers the emotional roller coaster that usually is part and parcel of literary fiction. … you can’t go wrong with The Council of Wise Women." – Meaghan Wood, Reedsy.Com More Reviews of Izzy Abrahmson's work “Abrahmson’s prose savvily mixes the homey and the surreal… he’s a master…” – Publishers Weekly “In the spirit of Sholem Aleichem…” – AudioFile Magazine “…a world of friendly humor.” – Kirkus Reviews THE COUNCIL OF WISE WOMEN is a STAND-ALONE novel in the award-winning Village Life Series. These books can be read in any order. They overlap and interconnect. Whichever one you start with, that's your first. It won't be your last. Imagine a delicious blend of Yentl, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, with a splash of Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family, and a dollop of The Simpsons.

&l> --Liz Pulliam Weston, “the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet” (Nielsen/NetRatings); author of Easy Money, Your Credit Score, and Deal with Your Debt “Thanks to Wynne Whitman’s great advice, I’ve learned everything I need to know to ensure my stellar Grey Goose collection goes to the right person. But more importantly, I now know what I need to do to protect my assets as well as Chuy’s.” --Chelsea Handler, best-selling author of Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea and My Horizontal Life; host of Chelsea Lately on E! Entertainment Television “I’ve worked hard all my life to support my family and was wondering what the future held for them when a friend sent me this book. WHAT SHOULD I DO? Here are the answers. Very clear with tons of information, especially about wills and how to help the family in the future.” --Sally Jessy Raphael, Emmy Award-winning talk show host “This book is a must read for smart women (and men). The author’s humorous writing style gets you up to speed painlessly on estate planning essentials--so your children have guardians, so you avoid taxes, and so your money and other assets go to the right people. Don’t have a will, trust, living will, or durable powers of attorney? Get them, immediately after reading this book.” --Greg Karp, syndicated personal finance journalist and author of Living Rich by Spending Smart Too many women still haven’t taken control of what will happen to their wealth and their assets. If you don’t plan, the government will decide who’ll act for you when you’re sick...who’ll manage your estate when you die...who’ll get everything you’ve worked for. Everyone needs to plan, but women face unique issues that are often ignored in “typical” discussions of estate planning. Smart Women Protect Their Assets offers the specific guidance women need to safeguard their futures and control where their assets will go. Leading estate planner Wynne A. Whitman offers smart, up-to-date, and easy-to-use advice for the scenarios millions of women will face. You’ll discover how to protect children of a previous marriage...give gifts the right way...do the easy planning that may save you nearly a million dollars...get the Living Will and Power of Attorney you simply must have...and a whole lot more. Written by a woman for women, this is a quick, focused, engaging, and practical book packed with simple checklists and “what-to-do-next” advice: information every woman can act on, right now. Are you risking everything? What you could lose if you don’t start planning now How to choose the right estate planning instruments for your situation Wills, trusts, and “fancier” options: Which are right for you and those you care about? What if you get sick and can’t act for yourself? Make sure the right person is there to make the right decisions How to provide peace of mind to your loved ones Get organized and tell your loved ones exactly what you want How to discuss life’s toughest topics Bringing it up with your husband, partner, or significant other

Women in the Hebrew Bible presents the first one-volume overview covering the interpretation of women's place in man's world within the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Written by the major scholars in the field of biblical studies and literary theory, these essays examine attitudes toward women and their status in ancient Near Eastern societies, focusing on the Israelite society portrayed by the Hebrew Bible.

Divination, the use of special talents and techniques to gain divine knowledge, was practiced in many different forms in ancient Israel and throughout the ancient world. The Hebrew Bible reveals a variety of traditions of women associated with divination. This sensitive and incisive book by respected scholar Esther J. Hamori examines the wide scope of women’s divinatory activities as portrayed in the Hebrew texts, offering readers a new appreciation of the surprising breadth of women’s “arts of knowledge” in biblical times. Unlike earlier approaches to the subject that have viewed prophecy separately from other forms of divination, Hamori’s study encompasses the full range of divinatory practices and the personages who performed them, from the female prophets and the medium of En-dor to the matriarch who interprets a birth omen and the “wise women” of Tekoa and Abel and more. In doing so, the author brings into clearer focus the complex, rich, and diverse world of ancient Israelite divination.

What Smart Women Know is a straightforward and honest guide from women who have learned the hard way how to be smart about men.

For years, it's been "common knowledge" that once a woman hits thirty, her chances of finding a husband diminish to the point of despair. That men are intimidated by a woman's career success, preferring docile helpmates to ambitious achievers. That women are biologically driven to seek a strong provider. That the higher a woman's IQ, the less likely she is to marry, let alone have babies...leaving single, successful women to ask themselves: Are men intimidated by smart women? In Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women, Christine B. Whelan shatters the myth that high-achieving women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market. There's good news for the millions of American SWANS (Strong Women Achievers, No Spouse): that today's smart, successful women marry at the same rates as all other women -- and that more income and education may in fact increase a woman's chances of marriage. What's more, as Dr. Whelan shows through newly released U.S. Census data, a large-scale Harris Interactive survey commissioned especially for this book, plus extended interviews conducted in cities nationwide, this profound demographic shift shows every sign of progressing. That means that the "success penalty" that has endured for generations is, as soon as 2010, destined for the history books. Accomplished daughters, sisters, and friends (not to mention their mothers) can finally stop worrying that the twin pinnacles of personal and professional happiness are inherently unattainable. In fact, smart men do marry SWANS. Ninety percent of high-achieving men surveyed want a woman who is as intelligent or more intelligent than they are. And two-thirds of men said they believed smart women make better mothers. Pairing cutting-edge research with sound advice, Dr. Whelan brings to mind what smart women everywhere have long known in their hearts: that the goal is not just to get married, but to have a good marriage, and to lead a fulfilled life.

Many women try too hard to be nice. It's a way of life for many who live in a culture that expects them to be the ones who "keep everyone happy." But what happens when keeping everyone else happy drains your own happiness? This book by bestselling author Dr. Kevin Leman shows how women who find themselves manipulated by impassivity, guilt, or abusive behavior can learn to assert themselves while maintaining their "pleasing" personalities.

Contributors Fred A. Bailey Robert F. Hull, Jr. David B. Jackson Earl Lavender Jack P. Lewis Bill Love Rick Marrs Allan McNicol John McRay Michael S. Moore Frederick W. Norris Tom Olbright Carroll D. Osburn Dale Pauls Kathy J. Pulley Charme E. Robarts Gary Selby James Thompson Gerald C. Tiffin Jack W. Vancil James Walters Frank Wheeler John T. Willis Timothy M. Willis Wendell Willis

Focusing on the lineage of pivotal African American and Irish women writers, Jacqueline Fulmer argues that these authors often employ strategies of indirection, via folkloric expression, when exploring unpopular topics. This strategy holds the attention of readers who would otherwise reject the subject matter. Fulmer traces the line of descent from Mary Lavin to Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and from Zora Neale Hurston to Toni Morrison, showing how obstacles to free expression, though varying from those Lavin and Hurston faced, are still encountered by Morrison and Ní Dhuibhne. The basis for comparing these authors lies in the strategies of indirection they use, as influenced by folklore. The folkloric characters these authors depict-wild denizens of the Otherworld and wise women of various traditions-help their creators insert controversy into fiction in ways that charm rather than alienate readers. Forms of rhetorical indirection that appear in the context of folklore, such as signifying practices, masking, sly civility, and the grotesque or bizarre, come out of the mouths and actions of these writers' magical and magisterial characters. Old traditions can offer new ways of discussing issues such as sexual expression, religious beliefs, or issues of reproduction. As differences between times and cultures affect what "can" and "cannot" be said, folkloric indirection may open up a vista to discourses of which we as readers may not even be aware. Finally, the folk women of Morrison, Ní Dhuibhne, Hurston, and Lavin open up new points of entry to the discussion of fiction, rhetoric, censorship, and folklore

In the first edition of The Israelite Woman Athalya Brenner-Idan provided the first book-length treatment by a feminist biblical scholar of the female characters in the Hebrew Bible. Now, thirty years later, Brenner provides a fresh take on this ground-breaking work, considering how scholarly observation of female biblical characters has changed and how it has not. Brenner-Idan also provides a new and highly personal introduction to the book, which details, perhaps surprisingly to present readers, what was at stake for female biblical scholars looking to engage honestly in the academic debate at the time in which the book was first written. This will make difficult reading for some, particularly those whose own views have not changed. The main part of the book presents Brenner-Idans's now classic examination of the roles of women in the society of ancient Israel, and the roles they play in the biblical narratives. In Part I Brenner-Idan surveys what can be known about the roles of queens, wise women, women poets and authors, prophetesses, magicians, sorcerers and witches and female prostitutes in Israelite society. In Part II the focus is on the typical roles in which Hebrew women appear in biblical stories, as mother of the hero, as temptress, as foreigner, and as ancestress. In these narratives, for which there are standard plots and structures and characterizations readily available, women play a generally domestic role. Not only is the book a highly valuable resource detailing the social role of women in ancient Israel, and showing how the interpretation of women in the bible has been influenced by convention, but it is also a challenging reminder of how outdated attitudes can still prevail.