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The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman
- Author
- Deesha Philyaw
- Narrator
- Janina Edwards
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 29 September 2026
- Run Time
- 13 hours 46 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Fasten your seatbelt... From the multi-prize winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, the dazzling, funny, whipsmart novel about one woman's (sometimes misguided) search for acceptance.
___
Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyoncé of the megachurch world: bold, unapologetic, ambitious, very much her own woman.
For the same reasons, she has always been a pariah among the other preachers' wives (aka First Ladies).
Hers is a rags-to-Rolex story. From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she’s been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesn’t have a lot of allies, but that hasn’t stopped her from building an empire spanning from books to branded products - a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of.
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she’s always craved: an invitation to participate in one of the biggest dates in the megachurch world, the First Lady USA pageant.
But as the competition nears, a scandal breaks and her carefully curated life threatens to implode...
Funny, smart, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is perfect for fans of books with buzz!
'A master of detail, desire and delicious humour' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
'Pure audacious joy!' BONNIE GARMUS
'This novel is so alive!' RAVEN LEILANI
'Fierce, fabulous, and very funny' Oprah Daily
'The novel everyone is going to be talking about' JASMINE GUILLORY
'Funny and juicy and sexy' SAMANTHA IRBY
'I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! A heroine you can’t help but root for.' RUFI THORPE
© Deesha Philyaw 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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Deesha Philyaw is a master of detail, desire and delicious humour. This is a debut novel that could be deep into Philyaw's catalogue. I couldn't get enough.
Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
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I read the first three pages and that was all it took--I was hooked. Pure audacious joy! Sign me up for the Deesha Philyaw fan club!
Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
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Being set in the exclusive world of the wealthy, Black mega-church elite would be reason enough to gobble this novel down, but Schar’s 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 — I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! 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
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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. It’s everything I want in a book.
Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal
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This novel is so alive! Philyaw manages the tension between faith and desire with an expert hand.
Raven Leilani, author of Luster
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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 alive — I 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, that’s me in the front pew, waving my MLK fan, shouting ‘Amen’ and ‘Hallelujah!’ What a good-ass book!
Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Wow, No Thank You
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Fasten your seatbelt, a megachurch pastor’s 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 Good Dirt
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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.
Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck and This Great Hemisphere
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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
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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. 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… This one is special. Like, forever special.
Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Deesha Philyaw
- Narrator
- Janina Edwards
- Duration
- 13 hours 46 minutes
- Release Date
- 29 September 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529946994
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Satirical fiction and parodies, Narrative theme: identity / belonging
Synopsis
Fasten your seatbelt... From the multi-prize winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, the dazzling, funny, whipsmart novel about one woman's (sometimes misguided) search for acceptance.___Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyoncé of the megachurch world: bold, unapologetic, ambitious, very much her own woman.For the same reasons, she has always been a pariah among the other preachers' wives (aka First Ladies).Hers is a rags-to-Rolex story. From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she’s been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesn’t have a lot of allies, but that hasn’t stopped her from building an empire spanning from books to branded products - a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of.On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she’s always craved: an invitation to participate in one of the biggest dates in the megachurch world, the First Lady USA pageant.But as the competition nears, a scandal breaks and her carefully curated life threatens to implode...Funny, smart, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is perfect for fans of books with buzz!'A master of detail, desire and delicious humour' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS'Pure audacious joy!' BONNIE GARMUS'This novel is so alive!' RAVEN LEILANI'Fierce, fabulous, and very funny' Oprah Daily'The novel everyone is going to be talking about' JASMINE GUILLORY'Funny and juicy and sexy' SAMANTHA IRBY'I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! A heroine you can’t help but root for.' RUFI THORPE© Deesha Philyaw 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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