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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies delves into the intimate and complex experiences of Black women and girls across four generations. Through nine compelling stories, it reveals their struggles to reconcile personal desires with societal and church expectations. From a teenager harbouring an impossible crush to women confronting love, identity, and freedom, each narrative uncovers the tension between duty and passion.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5519

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in contemporary general fiction that explores themes of identity, faith, and womanhood within Black communities.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

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 passions.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 realises 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.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781949199734

Publisher: West Virginia University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 September 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: West Virginia University Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 120.0mm

Height: 190.0mm

Weight: 333g

Pages: 189

About the Author

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.

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