Highly acclaimed comedic short stories book called 'No smiling allowed; growing up in Soviet Russia and other funny stories from a Jewish immigrant' - written and narrated by Julia Bendis. No Smiling Allowed is a comedic take on life in the former Soviet Ukraine and Latvia and as an immigrant in America. Julia Bendis has compiled many years of funny stories about her old-fashioned Jewish parents, their understanding of how life works in the United States, hilarious adventures, and her own younger generation's view of what it was like to blend in as a strange-looking kid from USSR.