Deesha Philyaw – författare

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.

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'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 Beyonce 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.