The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

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The stories of these women and their friendships come alive, beating with tenderness and imperfection, and build upon one another to create a beautiful melody of female determination.”

I don’t know what’s funnier: that Eula thinks my forty-year-old ass hasn’t had sex with a man in all these many years, or that she still considers us both virgins after all we’ve done together in those same years. White, Peter (2021-01-15). "Tessa Thompson Launches Production Company With First-Look Deal At HBO/HBO Max, Will EP 'Who Fears Death' & 'The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies' Adaptations". Deadline . Retrieved 2021-01-20.If guilt gets the best of you, do no attempt to witness to me or invite me to church. Don’t ask me to repent, because I regret nothing. You can’t save me, because I’m not in peril.” The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Congratulations on being named a finalist for the National Book Award. How did you react to that news? In Dear Sister, a woman writes a letter to her half-sister to notify her that Wallace “Stet” Brown, the wayward father they share with three other sisters, has passed away.

I am happy,” I say, coaxing my voice out to sound braver than I actually feel. “Right now. Right here. With you. And it doesn’t have to be just this one night. We could—”Deesha Philyaw’s collection of nine stories about church ladies is fresh, tender, biting, raw, deeply moving and just downright beautiful. I think there was a moment I was holding my breath while reading a story and I could only release after finishing. These stories beg to be read, and be read widely. I hope people see those things as the ways in which I am not bashing the church, that I still have fond memories of those kinds of traditions and that the church in and of itself isn’t the problem and so there’s a lot of good. There are reasons people cling to the church, very good reasons. There are reasons I have these memories and it’s not because I had bad experiences at church. It’s because I looked forward to Mother’s Day and knowing what those flowers meant and seeing who had the red flowers and who had the white flowers. For those who are less familiar with these traditions, would you explain that tradition about the red and white flowers? In Not-Daniel, a daughter visiting her ailing mother in hospice carries on an affair in the parking lot with a married man she meets visiting his terminally ill mother at the same facility. The affair sparked when she initially mistook him for a boy she attended junior high school with named Daniel McMurray. Caroletta, I hope you haven’t given up on finding you a husband. I’m on a mission, and you can be too.” Eula sounds flat, like the world’s most exhausted saleslady. She scoots away from me to the edge of the bed, looking at the TV. In Peach Cobbler, a bright high school senior named Olivia accepts a job tutoring a classmate, the athlete son of the town pastor. Olivia knows the pastor well, having come home for many years to find him eating the prized peach cobbler her hardened mother bakes and listening to her mother entertain the married pastor in bed.

Triumphant. . . . Philyaw’s stories inform and build on one another, turning her characters’ private struggles into a beautiful chorus.” But maybe you should question the people who taught you this version of God. Because it’s not doing you any favors.” The collection was rejected for publication by several publishers and presses, including the Big Five, before it was acquired by West Virginia University Press. [6] Reception [ edit ] Commercial success [ edit ] Eula books the suite in Clarksville, two towns over. I bring the food. This year it’s sushi for me and cold cuts and potato salad for her. Nothing heavy. Just enough to sustain us. And I bring the champagne. This year, which like every year could be our last, I bring three bottles of André Spumante. On the TV, the Times Square crowd is going wild. It’s almost time for the countdown. Eula and I are lying in the bed wearing only our year 2000 glasses. The noisemakers are still in the bag.The relationship between women and their mothers are also at the center of this collection,usually fraught with familial tension and often with the daughters being caregivers to their aging mothers such as in Not-Daniel and When Eddie Levert Comes’ The latter is especially effective as the daughter is merely called Daughter despite each other character having a name. An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored. Williams, John (2020-10-06). "National Book Awards Finalists Announced". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-10-22. Every single one of these stories were flames! Every. Single. One. Not one of them fell below a four star rating for me. I especially loved: I look at Eula, her no-longer-fresh ringlets damp from the time spent between my legs. As I think about her question, something both cruel and pitiful churns inside me and threatens to spill out. Since when does she know or care anything about my happiness? Anything at all about it?

I have a New Year’s resolution,” Eula says, her eyes half-closed. “If I’m still alone come Valentine’s Day, it will be the last one I spend without a man who belongs to me and me only.” The stories are all very poignant, sometimes laced with heartache, sometimes with humor. The connections between these women and their lovers, their mothers, and their siblings are explored so intimately, without a single wasted word. These relationships are never simple. Are they ever?! I loved the complexity of their thoughts, the turmoil, and the yearnings. Some of these “church ladies” are grieving; others are full of anger, perhaps even vengeful. They may miss home, their mothers, or other loved ones. They are all linked together by their love, determination and courage. Snowfall” (74) follows Arletha and Rhonda, a couple living in an unnamed Northern city. As the story opens they are clearing snow from their driveway one morning. Both characters grew up in the South, but they lost their family connections there because both of their mothers disapprove of their homosexuality, Rhonda’s more so than Artletha’s. They are struggling to adapt to the culture and winter climate of the city, and Arletha misses the South. After clearing the snow, Arletha takes Rhonda to work. Arletha later slips on ice, hurts herself, and almost calls her mother. She stops herself and calls Rhonda, who is unsympathetic when Arletha tells her what happened because she is bitter about not being able to communicate with her own mother. Rhonda later apologizes and makes boiled crabs, a meal that reminds Arletha of home, and the two reconcile. Sex, friendship, freedom, and agency are centered throughout this cheeky, insightful, and irresistible new book.” I devoured this collection in one sitting and was blown away by Philyaw’s talent. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was really fantastic.Jael” (113) is narrated in alternating sections by a teenager named Jael and her great-grandmother and guardian, Granny. Granny begins reading Jael’s diary and finds that she is sexually attracted to women, specifically their church pastor’s wife. As Granny continues reading Jael’s diary and thinks about how to save her from a life of sin, Jael spends time with her friend Kachelle and Kachelle’s much-older boyfriend, Jamie, a sexual predator who Jael eventually murders by causing a gas leak in his house. Granny finds out about this event via Jael’s diary. Granny considers that Jamie was a bad man, thinks to herself that killing is still a sin, and worries about Jael being caught by the police. The epistolary style of “Dear Sister” is a great way to show the different effects an absent/neglectful father can have upon his daughters, even into their adulthoods. It's told with enough hope, humor, and love among other relatives that it’s not too dark, and still realistic. The nine stories in this collection are sometimes funny, sometimes frank and defiantly sexual, and sometimes poignant. Philyaw’s characters are daring to live their lives the way they want, but it often takes them a while to get there, and it sometimes requires reconciling their religion with their desires. Full disclosure: I totally thought this was a nonfiction book until a friend read it. I saw it was getting an immense amount of praise but I just figured it was something I probably wouldn't read. But as soon as I found out it was a story collection I jumped on it and boy, am I glad I did! These stories are truly unforgettable.