The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a collection of short stories that explores raw and tender places where Black girls and women dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good.
What did I just read? What! This book did IT for me. Women fall under the weight society places on them. It is crazy what the world wants women to be. For women in the church, there’s additional pressure to be righteous and not veer off the path of righteousness. Just as the quote beginning says
Let it be known: I didn’t fall from grace. I leapt into freedom.
Sex, desires and pleasure for women and girls in the church are topics said in whispers in the hallway in churches. Women are judged for going against the church to be who they want to be. The Secret Lives of Church Women looks at the experiences of “good Black church girls and women” gone bad. I loved the “Bad Bitch Energy” in the book. I grew up in the church so I could relate to some of the experiences of the women in the book. The stories depict the double standards and hypocrisy in the church.
I can’t believe this is a debut novel. I breezed through the book in hours. I love the touch of humour. The language is Black and I loved how she describes Black people, families, societies and communities. I love how the writing and stories centre on what it means to be Black and what matters to Black Women. The writing in the book is an art of craft masterfully executed in such a beautiful and poetic way. Philyaw is a talented storyteller. This book is messy and the characters are imperfect.
The book explored themes such as race, women, parenting, motherhood, sisterhood, religion, sex, desires, and pleasure among others.
I can’t point out my favourite short story because each story felt like a piece of the puzzle of the entire book, but I like to say that Snowfall meant a lot to me. I love the story “How to make love to a Physicist”. The opening story “Eula” is a good first impression on the readers – I was drawn in right after reading it. Instructions for married Christian husbands made me laugh out loud.
I loved this one and I highly recommend it.
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