Rather Laugh Than Cry: Stories from a Hassidic Household

Malka Zipora

“In Zipora’s book, every page attests to her role as a woman of valour in her home, but the publication of the book attests to her role as a woman of valour in her community. … The stories of the Hasidim she presents are the stuff of everyday, made interesting not through sensationalism but through humour and pathos. … She is giving a voice to a group that has often been spoken for (in the media and literature, by non-Jewish Québécois and secular Jews), but has rarely spoken: Hasidic women.” - Karen E.H. Skinazi, in Women of Valour

"Rather Laugh Than Cry is a great introduction to Hassidic life, not only why but how they live apart from the world."—Montreal Review of Books

"Zipora has a strong narrative voice."- The Globe & Mail