The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman

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 (stories), the decadent delicious and daring debut of the year.

‘Funny and juicy and sexy’ Samantha Irby

A Most Anticipated Book of year by PEN America, Lit Hub, BookPage, and Ms. Magazine

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‘I have no intention of sticking to the script.’

Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyonc 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). From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, shes been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesnt have a lot of allies, but that hasnt 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 shes always dreamed of: a coveted 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.
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‘Sexy, shocking and funny as hell. Deesha Philyaw has written a love letter to the women in this world. Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women

‘This kind of book-making should not be humanly possible with first novels. This one is special. Like, forever special.’ Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

‘Trust me: your jaw will be on the floor many, many times.’ Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck

‘Unputdownable.’ John Vercher, author of Devil is Fine