The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Audiobook By Deesha Philyaw cover art

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

By: Deesha Philyaw
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
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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 14-year-old Jael, who has a crush on the preacher's wife. At 42, Lyra realizes 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.

©2020 Deesha Philyaw (P)2020 Tantor African American Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Marriage Funny Witty Church Women
Compelling Characters • Powerful Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Nuanced Performance • Soothing Voice
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Beautiful portraits of lives fully lived. I was so sad when this book ended, I could have dipped into these stories for the rest of my days.

a door ajar that you can’t resist

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Each story was told with feeling. Some will have you laughing out loud. All will give the listener visual pictures of events that are touching and thought provocative situations that give you a feeling of truth being expressed. it's like it is not how you would like it to be.

Real

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I didn't want the stories to end and the narration was superb. Peach Cobbler was one of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Strong, Real

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This book was well written and the narrator really brought al the stories to life. I'll definitely listen to it again. Treat yourself

Each story kept me riveted

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Amazing book. Stories are written in an amazing honest and real way. What a gift the writer has.

I loved loved loved these short stories.

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The narrator did an excellent job with the stories. There were a few stories that involved detailed sex (not erotica) and lot of stories that had no sex PG rated and few other PG13 stories.

it was a good read. I was able to finish it in one afternoon

Diverse Collection of Stories

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I’m so glad that I listened. This story was so real. I know these women, many from my own family.

Mansplaining

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I highly recommend this book. Great varieties of love and challenges. Love comes in many forms and so does passion and dysfunctional behaviors.

Great stories

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Enjoyed the book! Very interesting and a lot of truth to everything that was read

Nice

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I'm not a fan of short fiction. I want series that never end. I enter worlds and never want to leave. And with all that, I adored this collection of short stories. So real and raw and heartbreaking and funny and I loved every person I met. And I want each to be a novel, so I can learn more about their thinking and feeling and lives and adventures and solitudes. Exquisitely written. I am a fan.

A gorgeous collection of stories

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