The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - Deesha Philyaw
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a short story composed of 9 chapters that share the raw, real to life, lives of black women who come from highly religious families. From ladies listening to their hearts, exploring queer love and desire, to celibate women in their forties, to young school aged girls exploring what a relationship is, and how it can affect others around them. It doesn’t matter what the story, they all have one thing linking them together: faith. Something they might feel restricted by, yet they explore the boundaries that come with it and defy them in noteworthy and inspirational ways.
This novel empowers Philyaw’s readers with its unique ideas and perspectives. With the very first chapter to the very last chapter of this book being told from the first person, which provides an honest and wholehearted representation of each issue being raised.
Eula is about a woman named Eula. She’s in denial, under pressure, and frankly quite fearful. She’s exploring her sexual identity in an extremely guarded way. While, Daughter - in the last chapter: When Eddie Levert Comes - experiences the heartache and constant and strenuous responsibility of looking after her mother, who sadly suffers from vascular dementia.
So when I talk about issues being raised in the way they should be raised, I know that I can declare this to be a five-star story that needs be to read. Its feminism runs strong throughout, putting the needs and desires of women at the forefront of Philyaw’s writing, while intertwining smaller topics such as queerness and ethnicity into the bigger picture as she goes along.
Philyaw’s scenes are not only incredibly relatable and soul-stirring, they’re written in such a way that feels raw and extremely realistic to the human mind and body. As well as what we as people, no matter our religious backgrounds, or ethnicity, or gender, or sexual orientation, go through on a daily basis; from arbitrary thoughts to both senseless and meaningful actions.
It covers a wide range of topics, none to be ignored, but there’s something in each of them that the individual reading it can learn from. And I think that’s a really powerful thing to be able to do with the use of words and phrases. Each character has been made wonderfully believable, with their own faults and personal beauty marks that can be found in everyone around you (if you look hard enough). It highlights the nature of human beings, expressing the fact that people need people - whoever that may be, young or old, boy or girl, lover or friend. Everybody needs somebody, and I love how Philyaw has made me as an individual see this.
And because of Philyaw’s unparalleled work of art, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a book I would read repeatedly throughout my life just for its sole purpose – which I see to be: to show and understand the dark secrets we all have, but to shed light on all the brightness those dark secrets will never be able to dim.
I loved this book and I think a lot of people need this book. It came from a deeply personal place in Deesha Philyaw’s heart and soul, and I highly respect that. She used short yet complicated and easy to follow stories that got straight to the point and never bored me once.
With that said, if you like a story where there’s a variety of different lives being expressed, connected by a singular concept (similar to Charly Cox’s novel she must be mad - which I have burning desire to read) then The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw is a perfect match. It’s adventurous, stimulating, thought provoking, and just plain beautiful.
Buy your copy of the book from the link below: