"The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman" by Deesha Philyam was my favorite of my few 5 star reads of this year. The main character Scharisse is a middle aged major church pastor's wife who when she married her husband was a church outsider to the clique of the world of the American "Christian" church. Currently she wants to be crowned in a competition of the First Ladies of the church. However, she is dealing with finding out who is a real friend, ally, and who she is as scandal is created by others all around her to bring her down. She must decided does she want to keep the false narrative people have or tell the truth and be honest about where she comes from and who she is even if that means she might lose the lifestyle she is used to. As someone who has worked and volunteered in church settings I understand being the outsider while others look down on you. As a woman in the conservative American church (well I used to be involved in which is a story for another time) we are held to a standard that is not attainable while the men are given free passes for lies. This author either researched or was/is involved in the churches like she wrote about. Her book even helped me understand why some women who were raised in the church could be nasty to me as someone who did go to church as a small child but was not raised with the same extreme beliefs that they were while I have a husband who likes strong, smart, powerful, opinionated women. If the character of Scharisse was a real woman I would love to sit down and have a cup of coffee or tea with her. I think she would make a kick ass friend. It also was a great reminder even if someone is dead it does not mean we need to protect them from the bad they have done in the past as it can still affect the future. I highly recommend this book. Was not required by anyone to give this review as I bought the book myself thru the Book of the Month club.
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