The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

first short story collection book that held my interest and had clear commonalities between the stories. so many messages and themes to unpack

I enjoyed this short story collection about Black Church Ladies from the South. It was a good exploration of each woman's inner desires and passions that's oftentimes masked when attending Sunday church service. They were all so honest about their needs and wants beyond what society and community tells them.

I think this one will haunt me for a long time. It's a set of loosely entwined stories of family and our place in same, love and how to give and receive it well (and poorly). Coming from a Scandinavian upbringing, all the 'family-up-in-your-business' was an eye opener for me, yet not entirely negative. The writing includes a lot of sexuality, which is tastefully handled from my perspective, but some might find is disquieting. The really enduring ideas in this book for me are about what we do or give or deny or sacrifice for love and that the biggest challenge is sometimes learning to love ourselves. Just as we are.

I listened to the audiobook today while I cleaned up my apartment, and the narration was astounding. I am a big fan of essays, and I felt that this book addressed so many aspects of black womanhood in a multitude of ways. As a white reader, I know this book wasn’t crafted with me in mind, but the writing is almost poetic. Really enjoyed.

It's rare that something I read is both literary and so enjoyable.