The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
FINALIST FOR THE WILLIE MORRIS AWARDS FOR SOUTHERN FICTION
New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick
"Fierce, fabulous, and very funny." - Oprah Daily, Best Books of Fall 2026 list
"A raucous and moving tale of triumph told with biting wit." - #1 on People’s Must-Read Books of Fall 2026
The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed “rags-to-Rolex” life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in 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, she’s been labeled too brash and too “of the world” by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn’t have many allies, but that hasn’t 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 she’s always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors’ wives—First Ladies—who are “like Jesus’ disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.” 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.
"Smart and juicy and compulsively readable." - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal
"Philyaw has created a heroine you can’t help but root for, and a book you can’t help but love." - Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles
A Most Anticipated Book by Goodreads, Audible, PEN America, Kirkus Reviews, Electric Literature, The Root, BookPage, Lit Hub, Ms. Magazine, Debutiful, Country Living, She Reads, Book Riot
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Community Reviews
For you, for us, and for our mamas, I'm here tonight to tell the truth."
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Aspiring Proverbs 31 woman, Scharisse Freeman, embarks on a "Operation: Win them Over" campaign to get back into the good graces of her fellow First Lady USA pageant contestants despite a disastrous gaffe ten years prior.
I didn't want to love Scharisse as much as I ended up loving her. She's a little obnoxious, a little oblivious- not the best kind of friend. But Deesha Philyaw opens doors into the lives of flawed people, ones with good intentions that do bad things, and ones with bad intentions that somehow manage to upkeep their shiny-clean reputations. Scharisse may have her flaws, but she shines by the end of this novel.
I grew up in the church. It was a different denomination, a smaller, whiter church, but I remember the in-crowd of girls and women and how much I wanted to be a part of it. The wounds the church caused me took about 20 years to heal. Reading this was cathartic