Mar 28

Mar 28 The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Author: Deesha Philyaw
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover 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.

TL;DR Review

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a short but super impactful collection of stories. They’re sharp, incredibly crafted, and deeply resonant.

For you if: You like short stories (or you want to, but haven’t found any that work well for you yet).

Full Review

The past six months or so have been excellent for the publicity of incredible short story collections by incredible black women writers — The Office of Historical Corrections, Milk Blood Heat, and this one, to name a few — and I am HERE for it. Add this one to your TBR, friends, if it’s not already, because it’s really, really good. (Don’t take my word for it, though: It was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Story Prize.)

Anyway, Deesha Philyaw knocked my socks off. This clocks in at only 179 pages, but it packs a real punch, with stories that feel like they were crafted with an X-Acto knife. They’re each about a Black woman, from young adults to old women, caught between desire, self, and church, and how those things play into identity.

I listened to this collection on audiobook, and it worked really well in that format (and the narration was excellent). Sharp, moving, carefully observed, and deeply resonant, there isn’t a single story that won’t be bopping around my brain for a long time. I think my favorite was “How to Make Love to a Physicist” (because let’s be real, I’m a sap), but really they were all just so good. Pick this one up, even if short stories aren’t usually your thing.