{"product_id":"the-secret-lives-of-church-ladies-paperback-by-deesha-philyaw","title":"The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Paperback) by Deesha Philyaw","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e*FINALIST for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction*\u003cbr\u003e*WINNER of the 2021 PEN\/Faulkner Award*\u003cbr\u003e*WINNER of the 2020 Story Prize\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e*\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e*WINNER of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prize, Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction*\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e“Beguiling.” —\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eThe\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Tender, fierce, proudly black and beautiful, these stories will sneak inside you and take root.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e“Triumphant.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e“Cheeky, insightful, and irresistible.” —\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eMs. Magazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e“This collection marks the emergence of a bona fide literary treasure.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e—Minneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Full of lived-in humanity, warmth, and compassion.” —\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003ePittsburgh Current\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eexplores 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is fourteen-year-old Jael, who has a crush on the preacher’s wife. At forty-two, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ingram","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48254851154161,"sku":null,"price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0305\/9757\/8890\/files\/secretlives_e8589185-ad08-460e-9751-40bed33b65bc.jpg?v=1780682910","url":"https:\/\/shopsouthandpine.com\/products\/the-secret-lives-of-church-ladies-paperback-by-deesha-philyaw","provider":"South \u0026 Pine and Blue Apple Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}