West Virginia University Press The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Deesah Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies won the prestigious Story Award for 2020, and this collection is well deserving of that accolade. The first story, Eula, sets the tone for the whole book, with its brief, heartbreaking look at two women who have been best friends “for more than half their lives”, but also lovers. While the narrator Caroletta, wants more from her friend than just the physical, Eula wants to be “normal” and hasn’t stopped looking for a husband and encouraging Caroletta to do the same. Eula is very religious, and she pushes hard against the idea that they can be anything more than they are. Caroletta, who is more ambivalent about her faith, continues to seduce and push Eula. As this very short story ends, Eula admits that she’s scared. Caroletta, acknowledging her fears, begins yet another physical interaction, and the story ends on this ambiguous note. Will there be a change? Or will Eula continue to search for the perfect husband?Many of the stories are likes the first, with characters pitting their faith against their desires. And these stories also pit women against other women. In Peach Cobbler a teenage girl finds herself tutoring the son of the preacher her mother has been having an affair with for years, and find herself in a position of choosing her own path or her mother’s (another story, Instruction For Married Christian Husbands, suggests that she ends up like her mother, but with more perceived agency) In Jael, the titular character is disgusted when her friend begins to sleep with an older man, but she soon finds herself alone with him, and also makes a surprising choice.There’s hope in some of the stories too. In How to Make Love to a Physicist, a woman’s distaste of her own body hinders her ability to be in a relationship with a seemingly good guy, but her psychiatrists helps her along. When Eddie Levert Comes is a poignant look at desire and memory, as a woman tries to find love while caring for her mother, who has dementia but wakes every morning believing her crush as a young woman is coming to see her.These are all just amazing stories, very human and deep in their meaning, and creative in their various forms. Well done.

ꜱᴛᴏʀʏʟɪɴᴇ/ ᴘʟᴏᴛ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Each short story had a mini-plot to it, but there were several stories I wish would’ve had more added to them.ᴘʀᴏꜱᴇ:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Very beautiful when need be, simple and easy to read. From her writing style, every page felt like I was reliving the memories of old right alongside her characters.ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5- I enjoyed each of the speakers for every story, but some of them I couldn’t agree with. Each of the girl’s motives are either sex/love-oriented, or they’re retelling events that happened previously.ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ: This book is a realistic fiction type book comprised of about 9 short stories, each entailing the struggles of acceptance, being a black girl in America, same-sex relationships, christianity, and their love lives. Of all the short stories, I love the very first, ‘Eula’. Though the book is primarily about sex and young girls questioning christianity, the first story felt a little different to me. There was reflection among the two women reminiscing about their younger days, and it felt incredibly relatable. This book was really enjoyable and all the characters in each story convinced me to keep flipping the pages. It was one of those ‘short and sweet’ novels.

I love this book!! The stories are so engaging and wonderfully written.

Deesha Philyaw has got us hooked!! Can't wait to read more from her.

Unfortunately, my memory is impaired. I rarely can recall details so do not feel able to give a meaningful review.