The irresistible literary debut about the hidden desires of church-going Black women

'Left me wanting more. Masterfully written' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
'Joyous... It's a book in love with life' The Times
'Exquisite... delicious' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

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.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

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.

"Joyous... It's a book in love with life" - The Times

"Joyful, riotous... Philyaw's great triumph is to permit her characters to inhabit fully their rich and particular interior lives" - Observer

"Glorious - the smart, sad and very funny portrait of several generations wrestling with their desires and their faith" - Observer, Fiction to look out for in 2022

"Deesha Philyaw's debut collection is outstanding.... Raging and aching and joyful, these vividly drawn characters tackle sexual shame, fraught mother-daughter relationships, absent fathers and sibling loyalty with a hard-won wisdom" - Daily Mail

"It's impossible to pick a standout from this collection of short stories as they're all that good... a tender and rich look at all the complexities and layers of female sexuality" - Red magazine

"Achingly intimate... deftly crafted" - Sunday Times

"I've [...] been really enjoying The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, which are short stories that are incredibly sexy without being sexually explicit, which I think is a massive skill" - Stylist

"Philyaw's frank, lyrical prose is a thing of beauty, deftly capturing whatever she turns her hand to, be it fractured mother-daughter relationships or burgeoning romances. These short stories offer an arresting view on the inner lives of black women, and the nourishment they find in their spirituality and each other" - Financial Times

"An astounding collection... so powerful" - New York Times Book Review Podcast

"Brilliant" - Stylist

"Warm, sharp, familial, and refreshing" - Elle

"Tender, fierce, proudly black and beautiful, these stories will sneak inside you and take root" - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Triumphant... Philyaw's stories inform and build on one another, turning her characters' private struggles into a beautiful chorus" - Publishers Weekly

"Vivid, vibrant stories that will linger on your tongue like sweet tea" - Vox

"An award-winning, deliciously rebellious short story collection that teems with feeling" - Waterstones

"This collection marks the emergence of a bona fide literary treasure" - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Sex, friendship, freedom, and agency are centered throughout this cheeky, insightful, and irresistible new book" - Ms. Magazine

"I adored this collection... equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking" - The Bookseller (Editor's Choice)

"Enticing" - Independent

"Beautifully crafted" - Stylist

"An honest, joyful exploration of Black female culture" - BBC Radio 4 - Front Row

"Sparkling" - Foyles

"Superb" - Gay's the Word Bookshop

"Fresh, gutsy and charged with hurtling energy" - Irish Times

"A warm and affectionate "sisterly" chronicle of the lives of small town American black women" - Meath Chronicle

"Full of lived-in humanity, warmth, and compassion" - Pittsburgh Current

"These are stories about Black women that haven't been told with this level of depth, wit, or insight before, so it will not shock me if Oprah gets around to selecting it before the end of the year" - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Beguiling" - New Yorker