“TO THE SO-CALLED whores and their daughters! May we inherit the earth and enjoy an endless fount of wine to forget our troubles,” says First Lady Scharisse Freeman as she concludes a subversive monologue reimagining Proverbs 31, the biblical passage often invoked as a model of ideal Christian womanhood. With this opening scene, Deesha Philyaw sets the tone for her riveting, satirical novel, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. The story then goes back in time to show the events that led to the rousing speech. We follow Freeman, the wife of a megachurch pastor who is 15 years her senior, as she prepares for the First Lady USA pageant and deals with the fallout from a scandal that threatens her marriage, her family, and their megachurch.
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