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The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman
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The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman

By: Deesha Philyaw
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

For Scharisse Freeman, success comes at a cost but is it a price she's willing to pay? From the multi-prize winning author of THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES, a funny, sexy, clever novel

'I have no intention of sticking to the script...'

Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyonce of the mega-church world: bold, unapologetic, ambitious, very much her own woman.

For the same reasons, she has always been a pariah among the other Black preacher’s wives (aka First Ladies). 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, and living a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she’s always dreamed of: a coveted invitation to participate in the Mrs. First Lady USA pageant. But as the competition nears, a scandal breaks and her carefully curated life threatens to implode...

'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

'This book is so damn good. Sexy, messy, funny AF...it slaps with a perfectly manicured open hand.' Nikese Elise Williams, author of The Seven Daughters of Dupree

'This kind of book-making should not be humanly possible with first novels. Readers everywhere will get lost, then give thanks. This one is special. Like, forever special.' Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

© Deesha Philyaw 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 African American Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire

Critic Reviews

This novel is so alive! Philyaw manages the tension between faith and desire with an expert hand.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Simmering just below the surface of the scandal, sexiness, and laugh-out-loud hilarity that is Deesha Philyaw’s unputdownable debut novel is a fearless indictment of the corporate Black megachurch complex… You’ll be thinking about The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman long after you’ve read the final page.
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.
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is sexy, shocking and funny as hell. It’s a wonderfully operatic tale of intrigue and betrayal… Deesha Philyaw has written a love letter to the women in this world, and this novel practically glows with her affection.
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