Discuss "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies" by Deesha Philyaw

Because we'll be meeting a week earlier than we normally would, this month's book is only 179 pages!

Physical copies are available at the New Britain Public Library (NBPL) Checkout desk as of 11/21. Just ask for the Brown Girl Book Club book of the month!

Book Synopsis:
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores 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.

There 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.

With 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.

Genre:
Contemporary, Fiction, Short Stories

Trigger warnings:
Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Homophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Child abuse
Minor: Abortion, Murder, Death

Location
36 Queen St, Southington, CT 06489

Location may be subject to change.

Meet us at Perkatory Coffee Roasters on Queen St - NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH PERKATORY IN FACTORY SQUARE. If you have any questions, please message me on Meetup.