The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw
5 Rating(s)
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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Author: Deesha Philyaw

Narrator: Janina Edwards

Unabridged: 4 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/29/2020


Synopsis

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who has a crush on the preacher's wife. At forty-two, Lyra realizes that her discomfort with her own body stands between her and a new love. As Y2K looms, Caroletta's "same time next year" arrangement with her childhood best friend is tenuous. A serial mistress lays down the ground rules for her married lovers. In the dark shadows of a hospice parking lot, grieving strangers find comfort in each other.

With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be.

About Deesha Philyaw

Deesha Philyaw's writing on race, parenting, gender, and culture has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, McSweeney's, the Rumpus, Brevity, TueNight, and elsewhere. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, she currently lives in Pittsburgh with her daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roxane

These are wonderful stories. I love the focus on black women and their inner and outer lives. Philyaw’s voice is distinct and textured. The stories are beautifully crafted. A lovely collection.......more

‘In that moment, I understood how enough desire could drown you, take you all the way under.’ Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a shining star. Like the mother’s singing voice in the final story, this collection is ‘strong and certain’ and Philyaw comm......more

*taps 🎙️* Is this thing on? Yes? Ok. Let me introduce you to your new favorite author - Deesha Philyaw. Deesha isn't a new author, she's been writing for a minute, but what she does in The Secret Lives is something special. She flips the script and portrays "good church girls" as the real women and......more

Goodreads review by Candi

4.5 stars Warning: Do NOT open this book on an empty stomach!! The descriptions of food, peach cobbler in particular, will make you drool like a baby. DO open this book when you want to read a very robust collection of short stories full of strong and independent women. These are women that walk thei......more