“A poignant and relatable exploration of adjusting to motherhood.” —Kirkus

“Gut-wrenching, powerful, lyrical, achingly raw . . . Lihi Lapid’s I Wanted to Be Wonderful will make every woman feel seen, even when she is hiding. Following the lives of two women in the early years of motherhood (one is the author herself), Lapid doesn’t miss a beat in her deeply honest, provocative exploration of motherhood, parenthood, womanhood, and marriage. Ultimately, Lapid teaches women that when we finally let go of all we've been carrying—we stop leaving pieces of ourselves behind. Brava!” —Lisa Barr, author of The Goddess of Warsaw

“Lihi Lapid’s new novel, I Wanted To Be Wonderful, is, quite simply, wonderful. Sharply observed, deeply felt, subterraneanly witty, and scrupulously told, it tracks in fine detail, sometimes painfully, the lives of two charming and prickly heroines, as they navigate life with small children. Riven by guilt and held (by whom?) to superhuman standards, the women find themselves at crosshairs with their husbands, ships passing in the night. They want the men to help without being asked. Their men for their part, would help if their wives asked. The killer line: ‘And their bed is more full of children than sex.’ This book deserves a wide audience but I recommend it particularly to new parents, fathers as well as mothers, so they might see how the other half lives.” —Susan Rieger, author of Like Mother, Like Mother