The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

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Before reading this book, I was likely to perceive “church ladies” as women who use the Bible to control or punish others, or who think of themselves as better than those Jesus is still working on. Philyaw portrays “church ladies” as real people struggling with morality like the rest of us, some for better, some for worse, but all human beings. Published by West Virginia University Press, the book became an unlikely finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. Tessa Thompson and HBO Max have optioned it for a planned film, with Philyaw writing the adaptation. I'm looking forward to it and her first novel. Sign me up for whatever Deesha Philyaw writes next! This was one of the best short story collections I’ve read in ages, maybe ever. Almost every story was a perfect 10. My favorite was “Peach Cobbler” for sure, as well as “Snowfall” and “Eula.”

Even Einstein wasn’t an atheist,” he says. “He talked about God all the time. Now, he didn’t believe in a god that was concerned with human behavior, which is the church’s obsession and the reason it uses guilt and shame to enforce Christianity.’” After he drops his luggage into your trunk and closes it, he turns to you and says, “Finally.” And you say, “Finally.” And he draws you into his arms and kisses you. His lips are as soft as you thought they would be. a b Snowden, Jordan. "Book Review: Deesha Philyaw's The Secret Lives of Church Ladies". Pittsburgh City Paper . Retrieved 2020-10-18. This collection was such a pleasant surprise. More important, it was a pleasure to read. What a joyful experience. I can highly recommend the audiobook. Janina Edwards performed this book like no other. It truly was a performance, not just a reading. It elevated the stories and brought me right into the characters’ worlds.The stories of these women and their friendships come alive, beating with tenderness and imperfection, and build upon one another to create a beautiful melody of female determination.” Ms. Philyaw was raised in Florida, as I was, and several of these stories take place there. I could relate to so much. . . the food, the eclectic neighborhoods, being raised on cheesy shows like Dallas and Dynasty, too. I know when I post about short stories, I hear from a lot of people that they either can’t get into them or have never read any before. Some say they don't want to get invested in characters for such a short amount of time. I used to feel the same way until I discovered that in the right hands, short stories can be just as powerful as full-length novels. White, Peter (2021-01-15). "Tessa Thompson Launches Production Company With First-Look Deal At HBO/HBO Max, Will EP 'Who Fears Death' & 'The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies' Adaptations". Deadline . Retrieved 2021-01-20. Who Fears Deathtells the coming of age tale of Onyesowu in post-apocalyptic North Africa where her story makes her an outcast. She must go on a journey from self-reproach to love, but to do so she’ll have to overcome untold obstacles—defeating her hated sorcerer father and becoming the instrument of prophetic deliverance for a land of oppressed people, all the while fighting to master the terrifying powers growing inside her.

a b c Banks, Adelle M. (2020-10-15). " 'The Secret Lives of Church Ladies' is finalist for National Book Award". richmondfreepress.com . Retrieved 2020-10-18. The epistolary style of “Dear Sister” is a great way to show the different effects an absent/neglectful father can have upon his daughters, even into their adulthoods. It's told with enough hope, humor, and love among other relatives that it’s not too dark, and still realistic. You stand up and pull down your skirt and panties. “Rumi wrote of an intuitive love of God, and he was a Muslim,” you say. “But people like to strip away the Islam from his work.”

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I was also fascinated with the many types of relationships- mother/daughter, men/women, women/women... And while Philyaw does an excellent job of depicting the hypocrisy of church leadership and the misogynoir stemming from the intersection of class, sex, race, and religious belief, this story is really about the fragile relationships between mothers and their children, and how resisting parental neglect, essentially striving for self-love, can often look like rebellion. The nine stories in this collection are sometimes funny, sometimes frank and defiantly sexual, and sometimes poignant. Philyaw’s characters are daring to live their lives the way they want, but it often takes them a while to get there, and it sometimes requires reconciling their religion with their desires. You chide yourself for walking too far ahead—for regressing into eighties song lyrics territory so soon.