Alma’s Way

A woman in modern society feels she expected to be Wonder Woman – to excel at motherhood, housekeeping, and in her career, as well as being an outstanding partner in bed. Alma, approaching 40, is convinced that she has failed and decides to take time out. She retires to her bed and neglects herself, her adolescent son and her home. Daria, her childhood friend, tries to help her find herself again. During the twenty-four hours in which Alma shuts herself in her room, her life is spread out for us in flashbacks. Through them, the issues of married life, sexuality, motherhood, friendships among women and self-realization are examined.

Alma is married to Gidi who is successful in hi-tech. After Rami’s birth, she suffers from post-natal depression, overcomes it and returns to teaching. However, she remains weary and unsatisfied. She gains weight, concentrates on raising the child, and begins to suspect that Gidi is unfaithful to her. Daria, a central figure in the novel, is Alma`s diametric opposite. She has remained single, has earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and has had romances with a number of men. The two women have remained friends, and Alma cannot imagine that Daria is attracted to her husband. For his part, Gidi, a good-looking man, has had extra-marital affairs, and an affair with Daria is just a matter of time. The two have an on-again, off-again relationship for several years without Alma`s knowledge, and it is only when Gidi plans to go to Canada for two years that he tells his wife that she has been betrayed twice. Again, she falls into depression and her relationship with her son suffers. Now, Alma and Daris’a friendship faces a severe test, but it turns out to be the strongest of all ties. Daria helps Alma to recover, and a new day breaks to reveal a new Alma – stronger, more optimistic, and more accepting.