The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Deesah Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies won the prestigious Story Award for 2020, and this collection is well deserving of that accolade. The first story, Eula, sets the tone for the whole book, with its brief, heartbreaking look at two women who have been best friends “for more than half their lives”, but also lovers. While the narrator Caroletta, wants more from her friend than just the physical, Eula wants to be “normal” and hasn’t stopped looking for a husband and encouraging Caroletta to do the same. Eula is very religious, and she pushes hard against the idea that they can be anything more than they are. Caroletta, who is more ambivalent about her faith, continues to seduce and push Eula. As this very short story ends, Eula admits that she’s scared. Caroletta, acknowledging her fears, begins yet another physical interaction, and the story ends on this ambiguous note. Will there be a change? Or will Eula continue to search for the perfect husband?Many of the stories are likes the first, with characters pitting their faith against their desires. And these stories also pit women against other women. In Peach Cobbler a teenage girl finds herself tutoring the son of the preacher her mother has been having an affair with for years, and find herself in a position of choosing her own path or her mother’s (another story, Instruction For Married Christian Husbands, suggests that she ends up like her mother, but with more perceived agency) In Jael, the titular character is disgusted when her friend begins to sleep with an older man, but she soon finds herself alone with him, and also makes a surprising choice.There’s hope in some of the stories too. In How to Make Love to a Physicist, a woman’s distaste of her own body hinders her ability to be in a relationship with a seemingly good guy, but her psychiatrists helps her along. When Eddie Levert Comes is a poignant look at desire and memory, as a woman tries to find love while caring for her mother, who has dementia but wakes every morning believing her crush as a young woman is coming to see her.These are all just amazing stories, very human and deep in their meaning, and creative in their various forms. Well done.

ꜱᴛᴏʀʏʟɪɴᴇ/ ᴘʟᴏᴛ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Each short story had a mini-plot to it, but there were several stories I wish would’ve had more added to them.ᴘʀᴏꜱᴇ:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Very beautiful when need be, simple and easy to read. From her writing style, every page felt like I was reliving the memories of old right alongside her characters.ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5- I enjoyed each of the speakers for every story, but some of them I couldn’t agree with. Each of the girl’s motives are either sex/love-oriented, or they’re retelling events that happened previously.ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ: This book is a realistic fiction type book comprised of about 9 short stories, each entailing the struggles of acceptance, being a black girl in America, same-sex relationships, christianity, and their love lives. Of all the short stories, I love the very first, ‘Eula’. Though the book is primarily about sex and young girls questioning christianity, the first story felt a little different to me. There was reflection among the two women reminiscing about their younger days, and it felt incredibly relatable. This book was really enjoyable and all the characters in each story convinced me to keep flipping the pages. It was one of those ‘short and sweet’ novels.

I love this book!! The stories are so engaging and wonderfully written.

This was an excellent read.I wish there were more of these portrayals of realistic women and their sexuality when I was younger. I also appreciated that, in many of the stories were light-hearted or bittersweet. I'm a bit tired of books about miserable people suffering.I think that the author is at her best when she portrays characters who she probably relates to more. Though the characters in the book are many ages, the most relatable came of age in the 80s. They are mostly defining their boundaries, especially in terms of their sexuality and their relationships with their mothers. When the author portrays women from older generations, the inner life that she describes is less nuanced, more what could be deduced from what they say rather than what could be imagined of their secret thoughts.My favorite chapters were dear sister, peach cobbler, how to make love to a physicist, and instructions for married christian husbands. All of the stories had memorable characters and I'm sure that they'll stay with me for many years.A lot of ppl like Jael. I read it twice (once after I reviewed the context of the scripture quoted at the end. I believe that atory) It's a fascinating and nuanced story. It made me wish that I had read it as part of a book club bc it left me with questions and points to discuss. All of that said, it also fell a bit flat for me. The other stories describe actions, both good and evil, that are common enough to be mundane, and I think that's a real strength of the book. In Jael, the characters are less like ppl I know. One, or possibly two, of the actions in that story are behaviors by teen girls that I never heard mention of in my 10 years of working at a crisis center (I've seen a lot of evil, though I'm sure I haven't seen everything). It's a compelling story, but not as satisfyingly real as the others.I appreciated that a lot of the stories ended with semicolons rather than periods. If the author ever wants to tell us what happened next in their lives, I'd love to find out (and I was so relieved to meet one character for a second time towards the end).

Unfortunately, my memory is impaired. I rarely can recall details so do not feel able to give a meaningful review.

Well written and relatable in different ways for all the girls and women who grew up in and around the church

Not being the target audience for this book I still found it surprising good. Short stories.

This terrific collection of stories gives a non-Black, non-American person a great insight into Black American lives: the church-goers, and, in the periphery, the ones who die early, often due to drugs or violence. The speech cadences fall as easily as warm honey. Thanks to books, TV and movies, we recognise them. There are good grandmothers, tough mothers, church-going mothers who disapprove of lesbian daughters, tough daughters, a vengeful great granddaughter who lives up to her Biblical name, and plenty of feckless men. Beautiful, clear, writing that nevertheless creates entire worldviews. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

A beautifully crafted collection of short stories, layered with an irresistible southern wit, stark humour and a messy realness that just felt so damn sexy.In The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, no secrets are left untold as Deesha Philyaw’s unearths the distinct, deep rooted hunger for freedom, passion, lust and desire that drives each of her characters, which in turn, exposes a rich and insightful exploration into religion, womanhood, sexuality, infidelity, power, sexism and so much more.For such a quick, mesmerising read, Deesha Philyaw will have you begging for more.

This book is a collection of short stories, only three stories caught my interests ,they were Peachcobller , lael and instructions for married Christian men !

The media could not be loaded.  Deesha Philyaw has got us hooked!! Can't wait to read more from her.