One of my favorite novels of recent years is The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton. It is Walton’s only novel as of this blog post publishing. While trying to find out if she’s published any short stories, I found out she hosts a podcast “Ursa Short Fiction” with Deesha Philyaw. While the podcast does not publish new episodes regularly, and there hasn’t been a new episode since March 2025, the back episodes are worth a listen. The co-hosts interview authors about their experiences publishing in short fiction.

That is the roundabout way Deesha Philyaw and her short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, got on my radar. If I were a better short story collection reader, I would use this space to write about the overarching themes that are developed throughout the course of the book. Instead, I will just say that I found each story stands on its own with thought-provoking characters making decisions and taking actions that contribute to the push and pull between their own desires and the expectations their community places on them. Readers will find themselves reflecting on the drive and motivation of each character they meet.

Here is a snapshot of what each story is about:

Eula – Two women, friends since high school, meet at a hotel on the New Year’s Eve of 2000.

Not-Daniel – A man and woman find comfort in each other in the parking lot of a hospice center while their mothers are dying inside.

Dear Sister —A woman writes her long-lost sister on behalf of her other sisters to inform the sibling their father has died. (My favorite piece in the collection.)

Peach Cobbler — A girl, Olivia, observes her mother make peach cobbler weekly for a local pastor with whom she is having an affair. As a teenager, Olivia tutors and develops a crush on the pastor’s son.

Snowfall — A lesbian couple from the South struggle to feel at home in a Midwestern college town.

How to Make Love to a Physicist — A high school arts teacher meets a physicist at a conference and their love blossoms.

Jael — A teenager burns down the house of an older man taking advantage of her friend. The grandmother tells her side of the story in alternating sections.

Instructions for Married Christian Husbands — A woman writes out how to be a good affair partner.

When Eddie Levert Comes — A neglected daughter contends with her mother’s dementia where the mother believes her one-time lover, a popular musician, is coming to visit.