The irresistible literary debut about the hidden desires of church-going Black women

'Left me wanting more. Masterfully written' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie'Joyous... It's a book in love with life' The Times'Exquisite... delicious' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

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.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

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.

Fierce, fabulous, and very funny. - Oprah Daily, Best Books of Fall 2026 list

Philyaw has created a heroine you can't help but root for, and a book you can't help but love. - Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles

The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed ';rags-to-Rolex' life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlightin this funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she's been labeled too brash and too ';of the world' by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn't have many allies, but that hasn't stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living the comfortable life her husband's power affords her.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the final bit of validation she's always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors' wivesFirst Ladieswho are ';like Jesus' disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.' Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.

But as the pageant nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life implodes. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth.

Unflinchingly funny, frank, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman exults in the luscious, messy pleasure of finally feeling free.

Smart and juicy and compulsively readable. - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal

Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era. - Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division

The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed ';rags-to-Rolex' life when her secretive past comes roaring into the spotlightin this much-anticipated debut novel from Deesha Philyaw, author of the award-winning hit short story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she's been labeled too brash and too ';of the world' by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn't have many allies, but that hasn't stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living a comfortable lifeone her mother would have been proud of.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she's always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors' wivesFirst Ladieswho are ';like Jesus' disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.' Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.

But as the competition nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life begins to implode. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth. Past and present collide, and Schar must decide: follow the edictsand hypocrisiesof the life she's chosen, or embrace her authentic self.

Weaving narrative threads from the AIDS crisis of the 1980s to the Obama era of the 2000s, Deesha Philyaw has created a story that is at once an unflinchingly funny and frank examination of sexual agency and the Black church, and also a tender exploration of how the events that have shaped a person's past can allow them to stand proudly in the truth of the present.

Decadent. Daring. Delicious. From the multi-prize winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, the dazzlingly funny novel about one woman's (sometimes misguided) search for acceptance.

'The novel everyone is going to be talking about' JASMINE GUILLORY'Funny and juicy and sexy' SAMANTHA IRBY'Pure audacious joy!' BONNIE GARMUS'Deesha Philyaw is a master of detail, desire and delicious humour' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS'Witty, raunchy, funny as hell' TIA WILLIAMS'This novel is so alive!' RAVEN LEILANI'I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! A heroine you can t help but root for.' RUFI THORPE___

Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyonc of the megachurch world: bold, unapologetic, ambitious, very much her own woman.

For the same reasons, she has always been a pariah among the other preachers' wives (aka First Ladies).

Hers is a rags-to-Rolex story. From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she s been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesn t have a lot of allies, but that hasn t stopped her from building an empire spanning from books to branded products - a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she s always craved: an invitation to participate in one of the biggest dates in the megachurch world, the First Lady USA pageant.

But as the competition nears, a scandal breaks and her carefully curated life threatens to implode...

Funny, smart, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is perfect for fans of books with buzz!

***

A Most Anticipated Book of year by PEN America, Lit Hub, BookPage, and Ms. Magazine

'This book is so damn good. Sexy, messy, funny AF...it slaps with a perfectly manicured open hand.' NIKESHA ELISE WILLIAMS

'Fasten your seatbelt...a funny yet sobering literary exploration of aspiration, double-standards, shame, heartbreak and healing' CHARMAINE WILKERSON

'Sexy, shocking and funny as hell. Deesha Philyaw has written a love letter to the women in this world.' VICTOR LAVALLE

'This one is special. Like, forever special.' KIESE LAYMON

'Irresistibly catty, twisty, and packed with secrets.' MATEO ASKARIPOUR

The irresistible literary debut about the hidden desires of church-going Black women

'Left me wanting more. Masterfully written' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie'Joyous... It's a book in love with life' The Times'Exquisite... delicious' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

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.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

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.

The irresistible literary debut about the hidden desires of church-going Black women

'Left me wanting more. Masterfully written' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie'Joyous... It's a book in love with life' The Times'Exquisite... delicious' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

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.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

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.

Fierce, fabulous, and very funny. - Oprah Daily, Best Books of Fall 2026 list

Philyaw has created a heroine you can't help but root for, and a book you can't help but love. - Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles

The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed ';rags-to-Rolex' life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlightin this funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she's been labeled too brash and too ';of the world' by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn't have many allies, but that hasn't stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living the comfortable life her husband's power affords her.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the final bit of validation she's always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors' wivesFirst Ladieswho are ';like Jesus' disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.' Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.

But as the pageant nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life implodes. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth.

Unflinchingly funny, frank, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman exults in the luscious, messy pleasure of finally feeling free.

Smart and juicy and compulsively readable. - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal

Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era. - Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division

The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed ';rags-to-Rolex' life when her secretive past comes roaring into the spotlightin this much-anticipated debut novel from Deesha Philyaw, author of the award-winning hit short story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she's been labeled too brash and too ';of the world' by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn't have many allies, but that hasn't stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living a comfortable lifeone her mother would have been proud of.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she's always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors' wivesFirst Ladieswho are ';like Jesus' disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.' Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.

But as the competition nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life begins to implode. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth. Past and present collide, and Schar must decide: follow the edictsand hypocrisiesof the life she's chosen, or embrace her authentic self.

Weaving narrative threads from the AIDS crisis of the 1980s to the Obama era of the 2000s, Deesha Philyaw has created a story that is at once an unflinchingly funny and frank examination of sexual agency and the Black church, and also a tender exploration of how the events that have shaped a person's past can allow them to stand proudly in the truth of the present.

Decadent. Daring. Delicious. From the multi-prize winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, the dazzlingly funny novel about one woman's (sometimes misguided) search for acceptance.

'The novel everyone is going to be talking about' JASMINE GUILLORY'Funny and juicy and sexy' SAMANTHA IRBY'Pure audacious joy!' BONNIE GARMUS'Deesha Philyaw is a master of detail, desire and delicious humour' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS'Witty, raunchy, funny as hell' TIA WILLIAMS'This novel is so alive!' RAVEN LEILANI'I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! A heroine you can t help but root for.' RUFI THORPE___

Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyonc of the megachurch world: bold, unapologetic, ambitious, very much her own woman.

For the same reasons, she has always been a pariah among the other preachers' wives (aka First Ladies).

Hers is a rags-to-Rolex story. From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she s been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesn t have a lot of allies, but that hasn t stopped her from building an empire spanning from books to branded products - a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she s always craved: an invitation to participate in one of the biggest dates in the megachurch world, the First Lady USA pageant.

But as the competition nears, a scandal breaks and her carefully curated life threatens to implode...

Funny, smart, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is perfect for fans of books with buzz!

***

A Most Anticipated Book of year by PEN America, Lit Hub, BookPage, and Ms. Magazine

'This book is so damn good. Sexy, messy, funny AF...it slaps with a perfectly manicured open hand.' NIKESHA ELISE WILLIAMS

'Fasten your seatbelt...a funny yet sobering literary exploration of aspiration, double-standards, shame, heartbreak and healing' CHARMAINE WILKERSON

'Sexy, shocking and funny as hell. Deesha Philyaw has written a love letter to the women in this world.' VICTOR LAVALLE

'This one is special. Like, forever special.' KIESE LAYMON

'Irresistibly catty, twisty, and packed with secrets.' MATEO ASKARIPOUR

The irresistible literary debut about the hidden desires of church-going Black women

'Left me wanting more. Masterfully written' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie'Joyous... It's a book in love with life' The Times'Exquisite... delicious' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

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.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

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.