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AudioBook information:
Author: Deesha Philyaw
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Release date: September 29, 2026
Audiobook Duration: 13 h 46 min
Summary:Â Acclaimed author Deesha Philyaw co-hosts two podcasts, Ursa Short Fiction (with Dawnie Walton) and Reckon True Stories (with Kiese Laymon)
“Philyaw has created a heroine you canât help but root for, and a book you canât help but love.” – Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles
“Smart and juicy and compulsively readable.” – Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal
The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed ârags-to-Rolexâ life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlightâin this “funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit” (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, sheâs been labeled too brash and too âof the worldâ by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesnât have many allies, but that hasnât stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living the comfortable life her husband’s power affords her.
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the final bit of validation sheâs always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastorsâ wivesâFirst Ladiesâwho are âlike Jesusâ disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.â Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.
But as the pageant nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life implodes. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth.
Unflinchingly funny, frank, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman exults in the luscious, messy pleasure of finally feeling free.
“Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era.” – Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division
Reviews:
“Being set in the exclusive world of the wealthy, Black mega-church elite would be reason enough to gobble this novel down, but Scharâs transformation from disempowered try-hard, chasing after the approval of the other First Ladies, to utterly authentic badass is so well earned and so heartfelt â I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! Philyaw has created a heroine you canât help but root for, and a book you canât help but love.” – Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles
“Fasten your seatbelt! A megachurch pastorâs wife is about to take you on a funny yet sobering literary exploration of aspiration, double-standards, shame, heartbreak and healing. Deesha Philyaw has a way with dialogue and desire on the page, and her talents are on full display here as she mines the often murky territory between public image and private accountability.” – Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake and Good Dirt
“I read the first three pages and that was all it took â I was hooked. Pure audacious joy! Sign me up for the Deesha Philyaw fan club!” – Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
“A smart and saucy delight. The church ladies still have secrets in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman â secrets wedded mostly to sex â but theyâre much wealthier now and the comedy has risen to the heavens…. Gird up thy loins.” – Ron Charles, Substack
“I love mess, nothing in the world is better than scandalous church mess, and The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is funny and juicy and sexy and a delicious peek behind the pulpit of a Black megachurch. Deesha Philyaw is so good at writing complex characters who feel full and aliveâI wanted to live inside this book, volunteer for the usher board for this book, tithe my ten percent to this book. As a matter of fact, thatâs me in the front pew, waving my MLK fan, shouting âAmenâ and âHallelujah!â What a good-ass book!” – Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Wow, No Thank You
“I enjoyed the hell out of this. Smart and juicy and compulsively readable, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is the novel everyone is going to be talking about. Itâs funny, itâs sexy, itâs heartbreaking, itâs joyful; itâs everything I want in a book.” – Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal
“The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is a rollicking peek into the life of a megachurch pastorâs wifeâwhoâs keeping a messy secret sure to shock her hypocritical church community. Witty, raunchy, and funny as hell, Deesha Philyaw brilliantly exposes the minefield of seeking self-acceptance in a world consumed with performing ‘holiness.’ So propulsive, I inhaled it all in one sitting. Delicious!” – Tia Williams, New York Times bestselling author of The Missed Connection
“The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is sexy, shocking and funny as hell. It’s a wonderfully operatic tale of intrigue and betrayal within a Black church. Deesha Philyaw has written a love letter to the women in this world, and this novel practically glows with her affection.” – Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women
“This book is so damn good. Sexy, messy, funny AF, with a message tucked tight in the satire. It slaps with a perfectly manicured open hand.” – Nikesha Elise Williams, author of The Seven Daughters of Dupree
“Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era. The skill necessary to bounce readers from confessional to institutional critique to sweaty revelation is staggering. Yes, Philyaw loves these characters and place as much as characters and place can be fictively loved, but it is her care for, and ability to thwart, readerly expectations that feel wholly innovative. As Toni Morrison wrote, the language we wield should not sweat, but my God, the readers of these characters surely will. We will spit, piss, hoot and holler up a storm. This kind of book-making should not be humanly possible with first novels. Readers everywhere will get lost, then give thanks. This one is special. Like, forever special.” – Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division
“This novel is so alive! Philyaw manages the tension between faith and desire with an expert hand.” – Raven Leilani, author of Luster
“Messy, bodied, simply goddamn alive! Another standout from Deesha Philyaw, one of our brightest and most gorgeously talented writers. It should be a crime to be so funny while simultaneously yanking your heart out of your chest. What a novel! A blessing just to read it.” – Kristen Arnett, author of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One
“What a time I had with The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman! Deesha Philyaw’s debut novel is the highest entertainment and a master class in mess, all while giving readers some big, serious questions to chew on. Amen?” – Dawnie Walton, author of The Revival of Opal & Nev
“Deesha Philyaw is a master of detail, desire and delicious humor. This is a debut novel that could be deep into Philyaw’s catalogue. I couldn’t get enough.” – Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
“Propelled by a ferocious love for others, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman heals as much as it humors, inspires as much as it scandalizes, and may just turn you on as much as it forces you to turn inward. Irresistibly catty, twisty, and packed with secrets, Deesha Philyaw’s debut novel cracks open the megachurch industrial complex in a way no one has before. Trust me: your jaw will be on the floor many, many times. And no hypocrite shall be spared.” – Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck and This Great Hemisphere
“Simmering just below the surface of the scandal, sexiness, and laugh-out-loud hilarity that is Deesha Philyawâs unputdownable debut novel is a fearless indictment of the corporate Black megachurch complex. Philyaw takes aim at the hypocrisy of not only those who stand behind the pulpit but those congregants complicit in enforcing the corrupted word. She leaves no truth untold, no wig un-snatched. Youâll be thinking about The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman long after youâve read the final page.” – John Vercher, author of Devil is Fine
“In her debut novel, [Philyaw] blows that gap wide open in a gleefully over-the-top satire about an invented pageant for the wives of megachurch pastors…. Fierce, fabulous, and very funny.” – Oprah Daily, Best Books of Fall 2026 list
“I fell in love with Deesha Philyaw’s short story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies and her debut novel delivers the same kind of verve and wit but adds layers of scandal, sex, and intrigue that make it impossible to put down…. Itâs a funny, sexy romp of a novel.” – Al Woodworth, Amazon Editors’ Pick
“A raucous and moving tale of triumph told with biting wit.” – People magazine (#1 on Peopleâs Must-Read Books of Fall 2026)
“A juicy tale of betrayal, feminism, and desire in the world of Black megachurches…. Features great sex scenes, something often missing from literary novels.” – Harperâs Bazaar
“With knowing humor and a risquĂ©, satirical touch, Philyaw dives into the stew of faith, sex, marriage, parenthood, hypocrisy, Black churches, and the importance of sex toys. The footnotes alone will keep you laughing.” – Minnesota Star-Tribune
“Youâll never look at fig leaves the same way after reading this hilarious, whipsmart and sometimes painful novel. Scharisse Freemanâs marriage to Pastor David Freeman of Belleton, Georgiaâs Hope in Christ megachurch, has brought her First Lady fame, including several changes of designer clothes per day and a home so luxurious their family need never leave â until she realizes a tough family truth and contends with the true meaning of faith.” – Los Angeles Times
“An astute, funny satire.” – Seattle Times
“A cheeky, hilarious and endearing romp that cements Philyaw as one of our most exciting contemporary authors.” – Ms. magazine
“A rollicking satire of Black megachurch culture featuring an irresistible fireball of a protagonist…. Scharisse is an irresistible character, more Prometheus than Proverbs 31, and readers will be rooting for her every step of the way, even as some of those steps are clearly faux pas. Philyawâs vibrantly voicey tale will appeal to both insiders and outsiders of the culture it describes, a Crazy Rich Asiansâstyle visit to a rarefied realm, but with much more hot sex…. Misogyny, classism, colorism, hypocrisy: begone! A fierce, fabulous and very funny truth-teller cometh to take you down.”
– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Uproarious…. Philyawâs well-paced and irreverent novel sings…. Itâs a revelation.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Readers will now undoubtedly relish [Philyaw’s] delectable first novel…. HIGH-DEMAND.” – Booklist (starred review)
“A coming-of-middle-age tale that sharply satirizes Black megachurch culture. Framed as the memoir of Scharisse Freeman, the wife of a megachurch pastor, itâs a story peppered with clever and irreverent asides that showcase Scharisseâs no-holds-barred personality…. Philyaw, the author of the National Book Award-finalist short story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, has a lot of fun in setting up Scharisseâs opulent world, and in letting Scharisse begin to confront the hypocrisy and misogyny built in to that world. But whatâs most impactful is the memorable character Philyaw has created in Scharisse, a woman who finds that her middle-aged happy ending is not at all what she once thought it would be.” – BookPage (starred review)
“A vigorous, funny, rich, and even racy look into the lives of wealthy Black church ladies…. Philyaw successfully frames this novel as a memoir that reveals Schar as a flawed human being who remains likable. Her humanity will have readers rooting for her to succeed and put her intelligence, integrity, and strong sense of self to a righteous purpose. This creative triumph harmonizes well with Philyawâs well-received 2020 short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.” – Library Journal
“Riveting…. True Confessions emphasizes that the real problem in the church is not the absence of Proverbs 31 women but the presence of harmful theologies around sex and sexuality and the failures of church leaders to protect Black women and girls.” – Sojourners
“Freeman proves [Philyaw] is one of the best living writers. Her stories already let the world know that, but Iâm happy to say her novel is somehow better than her collection. She is a master of creating the most memorable characters that leap from the page.” – Debutiful
“Deesha Philyaw crafts a mosaic of intimacy, shame, loss, and love that exposes the often wide gulf between our public personas and who we really are, cast against the backdrop of the expectations of the church. These stories challenge traditional ideas of race, parenting, and sexuality in thought-provoking but ultimately satisfying ways.” – The Saturday Evening Post on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“A collection of luminous stories populated by deeply moving and multifaceted characters. . . . Tender, fierce, proudly black and beautiful, these stories will sneak inside you and take root.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Juicy goodness bursts from every page of Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection…. This collection marks the emergence of a bona fide literary treasure.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Beguiling.” – The New Yorker on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Triumphant…. Philyawâs stories inform and build on one another, turning her charactersâ private struggles into a beautiful chorus.” – Publishers Weekly on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Beautifully crafted. A lovely collection.” – Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist, on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“To encounter Deesha Philyawâs work is to encounter contemporary folktales. They are the stories of southern customs and mores and of voices over the back fence. The daughters and granddaughters of Toni Cade Bambara and Bebe Moore Campbell readers need this book.” – Yona Harvey, author of Hemming the Water and writer for the Marvel Comics World of Wakanda series, on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“This is no mere collection of sappy romance stories. The love in Philyawâs stories runs the gamut from sweet to bitter, sexy to sisterly, temporary to time tested, often with hidden aspects. The word secret in the title is earned, and some of the secrets are downright juicy.” – Tara Campbell, author of Midnight at the Organporium, from Barrelhouse magazine, about The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Sex, friendship, freedom, and agency are centered throughout this cheeky, insightful, and irresistible new book.” – Ms. Magazine on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Vivid, vibrant stories that will linger on your tongue like sweet tea.” – Vox on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Deesha Philyaw uses the comic, the allegorical, and the geographic to examine Black intimacies and Black secrets. Her work is as rigorous as it is pleasurable to read.” – Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy, on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Stunning. . . Philyawâs stories are addictive while also laying bare the depth and vulnerability of Black women.” – Observer on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Full of lived-in humanity, warmth, and compassion.” – Pittsburgh Current on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“These are stories about Black women that havenât 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 on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“Incredibly moving.” – Pittsburgh City Paper on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“The church, sexuality, and everyday life come alive in each story bringing readers closer to experiences we can, or have, seen ourselves in.” – Electric Lit on The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
About the Author:
Deesha Philyawâs debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the Story Prize, the LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. Deesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, a Baldwin for the Arts Fellow, a United States Artists Fellow, and co-host of two podcasts, Ursa Short Fiction (with Dawnie Walton) and Reckon True Stories (with Kiese Laymon). She is currently at work developing TV shows based on her short fiction.