The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

*2020 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction**2020 Story Prize Winner**2021 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist**2021 L.A. Times Book Prize, Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction Finalist*“Tender, fierce, proudly black and beautiful, these stories will sneak inside you and take root.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Triumphant.” —Publishers Weekly“Cheeky, insightful, and irresistible.” —​​​​​​​Ms. Magazine“This collection marks the emergence of a bona fide literary treasure.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune“Full of lived-in humanity, warmth, and compassion.” —Pittsburgh Current“These are stories about Black women that haven’t 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-GazetteThe 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