"My mother's peach cobbler was so good, it made God himself cheat on his wife."


From the blurb: 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.

What a gorgeous collection! The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, out in the US since last year but only recently coming to our shores, explores - well, you guessed it. In an interview, it is described as about “the tensions between being human and being holy” and I couldn’t sum it up better myself.
Each story, the shortest of which is just a few pages, is a slice-of-life style exploration of one woman’s point of view, and the vast majority of the stories are about desire. Philyaws collection lifts the lid on the secrets women keep and what they do when the constraints of society are lifted, even if only briefly.
There’s Eula - who meets a female lover, secretly, once a year, and another woman who meets a string of lovers, never taking money, but doing it for her own pleasure. It’s an arresting collection of portraits - all of these women are flawed, curious and in search of joy, even if that joy has to be taken in brief, secretive bites given the structures that surround them.

Secret Lives is also, as the author herself puts it, “unapologetically Black”, and examines the relationship Black women have with two big institutions - the church, but also marriage. Both are big themes in the collection, wending their way through every story, most hauntingly in “Peach Cobbler” and “Snowfall”.The churches of the book’s title are generally those strange-sounding American kinds unfamiliar on our shores. That said, there’s still so much to connect to in this book - especially coming from an Irish Catholic background, with the knowledge of how similarly stultifying it can be. The book interrogates these big topics but also has so much to say about womanhood, about pain, about joy and about love.

It made me think a lot about what women tolerate for their faith, their church, and the institution of marraige. Again that tension between being human and holy. Despite the collection’s brevity, there’s an awful lot to digest, but it never feels heavy or difficult. It is also, in many places, very sexy, which I absolutely did not expect but it’s done very well and never feels uncomfortable or lewd. Philyaw writes with a breezy confidence that makes Secret Lives easy to zip though while still digesting the big questions she is asking about love, relationships and, perhaps most pressingly, freedom - what it looks like, and how her protagonists can reach it. A wonderful collection that leaves the reader with plenty of mull over. If the mark of a good short story is that you’d read a novel based on the same characters, I’ll be asking Deesha Philyaw to write a large number of novels ASAP.

Deesha Philyaw’s award-winning, debut collection’s centred on Black women in contemporary America. Philyaw draws from her own experiences, all of her characters shaped in some way by a culture of churchgoing and growing up in the South. At the same time, her pieces feature women who’re trying to work out their own identities and ways of living, how to live free from the constraints and the conventions of their upbringing. Their voices are clear, even at their most hesitant. Philyaw’s stories focus in on intimate relationships, from family dynamics to illicit affairs or the precarious bonds between parents and children, and above all they explore the pull of physical desire. “Snowfall” is a moving account of yearning for lost connections, narrated by LeeLee, whose decision to live openly with her girlfriend Rhonda, means she’s effectively exiled from her old home in the South. In “Eula” a woman’s inability to imagine a life other than the one she’s been conditioned to expect, leaves her unable to move forward. In one of the strongest entries “Peach Cobbler” a young girl comes of age after a painful awakening. These are carefully-sculpted, insightful, slice-of-life narratives, some wry, some bittersweet, but always steering clear of neat or easy conclusions. As with any selection of short stories these vary in quality and force but there’s enough that’s memorable here to make this more than worthwhile reading.

This was not my usual read, but I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of stories which ranged from heartbreaking to saucy. A cheeky read with a feel good vibe

This was wonderful. Some of the stories took my breath away. The writing was faultless. Wish some of the stories could have been novels.

This short story collection has been receiving a lot of attention and love from the book community recently and once again, I can completely see why. Honestly, there’s not a single story in here that I didn’t enjoy, and I don’t think it’s very common when it comes to short story collections. I feel like you always end up loving a few and feel just meh about the rest. Let me tell you, that isn’t the case here.

The book includes nine short stories about black women who attend (or attended) church, their connection with it, and how they try to resent the religious norms. It brings up themes such as self-discovery, love, relationships, motherhood, and sex. We are meeting with women discovering their sexualities, trying to follow the norms and be “good”, looking at families and their connections. All of the characters are so unique in this collection. You just want to know what happens to them. You want to read their stories for as long as you can. But you are only given a short snippet of their lives, their thoughts, who they are, or who they want to be.

Philyaw’s writing is captivating and expressive. The stories are all different in length, but there’s not a single story that wouldn’t make you feel a strong connection with the characters.

"My mother's peach cobbler was so good, it made God himself cheat on his wife."

My personal favourites are:

Eula
Peach Cobbler
How to Make Love to a Physicist
Snowfall

I don’t tend to gravitate towards short story collections, but I have seen a few reviews of this collection and I’ve only heard good things, so when I saw that a proof was available I snapped it up and LOVED it. This collection is a wonderful insight into the inner and outer lives of black women in a Church community and Philyaw’s control of her craft is so evident that each story also feels like it’s the perfect snapshot that the reader needs. However, I could have happily read a fully length novel from each of the stories because I felt so connected to all of the characters.

This collection discusses the individual lives of a group of women who are connected by one major interest, the Church. The ‘secret’ lives of these women are filled with love and desire, traditionally things that women have been advised to conceal and this collection gives readers a glimpse into who they are, rather than who they are expected to be. Philyaw’s collection celebrates female sexuality and female autonomy, once again discussing issues surrounding the expectations can be placed upon women in an institution such as a Religion, rather than who they are as individuals.

I cannot recommend this collection enough, it’s brilliant and raw with highly believable characters. My favourite stories are Peach Cobbler and How to Make Love to a Physicist but I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories in this collection. Definitely go and pick up a copy when it’s out and if you’ve read it, I’d love to hear what you think.

i really really loved these stories, which are all brilliantly constructed with a strong sense of when and how to end. it's also a really fascinating range of topics/mood/tone.

I don't think I've loved a short story collection as much as this. I got so caught up in the beautiful writing style, that majority of the endings surprised me because I wasn't trying to guess it like I usually do. It was an enjoyable collection of stories with a touch of whimsy. I definitely wasn’t ready for it to end.

This is a collection of stories concerning almost exclusively female characters about the intersectionality of being black, a woman and dealing with religion.. It's about dealing with how to find your identity within faith and within religion and about the hypocrisy of the church, The stories examine the relationships between the church and family, religion and family and religion and relationships.. Philyaw gives us a very real portrayal of these characters lives and how they interact with religion and faith. She examines how women are expected to be and live within the context of the Christian religion . I found it very poignant and connected to it deeply and could not take my eyes off it for the entire time I read it.

It's rare to find a book that feels like it literally puts you in the characters mind, especially with so many characters. But by page 1 I was completely absorbed and I could put this down, absolutely brilliant, it almost felt like a gossip magazine but so much more emotional! I just don't know how to say how brilliant this book was, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for this authors future books and be recommending this to as many people as possible!

This is a collection of short stories that explores the lives of Black women who have lived their lives under the influence of Christianity - in particular, there is a focus within these stories on sexuality, self-expression, identity and attitudes towards women in the Church.

Ordinarily, I don’t get on too well with short story collections. It frustrates me that I can’t become invested in the characters in only a few pages - or when I am able to become invested, it frustrates me that their stories end after so little time.

With this collection, however, that isn’t the case. Although I do wish we’d had longer with each of the characters, I think Philyaw does a masterful job here of establishing core themes and imparting key messages in short snippets. Each of the characters is believable, and each story tackles similar issues from different perspectives across multiple generations. What is most powerful of all is that most of these women’s stories are fairly unremarkable; a true depiction of lived experiences involving some very prevalent issues within the Church and many Christian communities. I loved the exploration of the discord between the Jesus’ message of love and acceptance and interpretations of the Bible’s less tolerant sections, in relation to how this actually translates in people’s daily lives.

This short book certainly packs a punch, and will leave the reader pondering on a number of elements highlighted within these pages.

This book is a selection of beautiful short stories looking at the instersection of race, religion and sexuality. The main characters are all black women who are going through life events in relation in these three things. From a lesbian couple dealing with moving to a snowy place and missing home to a teenager lusting over the pastors wife.

Every story is a complete gem. There wasn't one story I didn't enjoy and they were in so many different styles. Not one was similar to the last. there's one thats a guide, another a letter, others the thoughts of other characters, some dueling PoVs. Not one story is the same even if some do link together in ways I refuse to spoil.

I read this in one night and loved every single minute. It was beautiful, funny and daring. Every story seemed to leap off the page and by the end you missed all the women you spent the evening with.

Every story leaps off the page in full blown technicolour you can smell the peach cobblers, feel the snow and hear the fireworks just like the characters can. But most of all you sympathise and grow to love them all with all their foibles with all their strangeness their wants and needs.

This book is probably one I must ask all of you to read in the new year! Make it your news years resolution when this comes out to pick up a copy. You won't regret it!

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

“Is it better to have the one big hurt of your father not being around and not all those little hurts that come when he disappoints you? Or is it better to have a piece of a father, hurts and all?”

This short story collection delves into the grey area between the double standards of the church and their own passions. We see each lady follow her own desire to find a reprise from the constant standards inflicted upon her. In these hidden spaces, new loves are formed as the church ladies feel free to express themselves without constraints.

Disclaimer, I am not usually a fan of short stories but wow was this a good one! I felt like each character was given the right about of exploration and development that it didn’t feel rushed, and there was a fantastic theme to the book (something that I sometimes feel is missing in short story collections).

I loved how this book dissects the role women play in our society and communities, while often their essential roles go unnoticed and un-praised. Women often feel like they cannot take time they need to process grief, celebration, trauma and love.

This book covers so many themes including race, religion, sexuality, feminism and difficult relationships (to name a few)!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️CW// sexual content, infidelity, homophobia, adult/minor relationship, child abuse, abortion, racism

This is a wonderful collection of short stories that depicts women of various ages and their experience of life. Each story is individual in its perspective but also in writing style. Although it is a mere glimpse, I felt immersed in the lives of the characters as it is written in a way that makes you feel part of the conversation. I believe this is a book I would take more from upon every re-read.

A collection of short stories centred around black women of the church and what they do in their private lives, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is without doubt one of the best short story collections I've ever read.

Deesha Philyaw has that rare talent of bringing characters to life within just a few pages. Fleshed out, real characters that draw you into these wonderful stories and make you wish you could read more. I would gladly read full length novels with these characters.

The stories, the characters, Philyaw's overall writing, this is a truly special collection that makes me want to read more of the author's work. What a truly exceptional talent. Loved it!

Thanks so much to Pushkin Press for letting me read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies! I was really intrigued by this themed short story collection, especially because all of the hype and good press it has received, but ultimately I was underwhelmed. Although I appreciate the premise and each story has interesting themes and characters, there's only one story that really grabbed my attention ('How to Make Love to a Physicist.') It's hard to say why I didn't gel with these stories – maybe it's the writing, maybe it's because I felt no connection to the religious aspect, maybe it's because I felt the collection was lacking in subtlety. I don't know. But The Secret Lives of Church Ladies has received great reviews from other people, so I would encourage you to seek it out if you're interested! 3 🌟

What a stunning book! I loved the writing and there were so many moments where it broke my heart. I can't wait to read more by this author.

I was really excited going into this collection of short stories for the simple reason that, judging by the synopsis, I knew these women. Variations of these women and what I was expecting to see them go through are very familiar to me because I am related to them, they are family or friends that I have loved and grew up with.

And well, the collection didn't disappoint.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies follows the inner and outer expectations of black women throughout their lives. The stories are raw, enticing and kept me hooked from the first page. Each one could have easily been turned into a full novel, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them all in a heartbeat.

There are plenty of other reviews on here which rave about this but as a believer in old fashioned things like fidelity and faithfulness I think I am not the target reader for this collection of ultimately really rather repetitive and anti-church series of short stories about unfaithfulness, adultery, betrayal and so on.

This was a great read, a really well written collection of short stories looking at the lifes of women and children of colour in the church community. The stories were so beautifully written and the characters so well developed considering they were short stories. I really enjoyed it.