{"product_id":"author-talk-the-true-confessions-of-first-lady-freeman-with-deesha-philyaw-november-16-7pm","title":"AUTHOR TALK: The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman with Deesha Philyaw - November 16 @ 7PM","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCelebrate the release of \u003cem\u003eThe True Confessions of First Lady Freeman\u003c\/em\u003e with Deesha Philyaw!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEVENT DEETS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen: Monday, November 16 @ 7PM CST\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhere: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St, HTX 77004)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"81\" data-start=\"44\" data-section-id=\"1h4scnw\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-end=\"59\" data-start=\"46\"\u003eRSVP ONLY\u003c\/strong\u003e to reserve your seat.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"210\" data-start=\"82\" data-section-id=\"1u46exx\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-end=\"102\" data-start=\"84\"\u003eRSVP WITH BOOK\u003c\/strong\u003e to reserve your seat and purchase a copy of the book, supporting both the author and our store programming. \u003cstrong\u003eThe book will be available for pickup at the event.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-end=\"325\" data-start=\"211\" data-section-id=\"9r7ts8\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRSVP (I Already Have the Book)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e to reserve your seat \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e let us know you plan to bring one you previously purchased from another bookseller.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease note that books purchased from other retailers are not permitted inside the bookstore and will not qualify for the signing or photo line. To participate in the signing and photo opportunity, you must purchase a copy of the book from Kindred Stories or select the RSVP (But I ALREADY HAVE THE BOOK) ticket option.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you purchase a ticket and are unable to attend the event, your ticket is non-refundable. If your ticket includes a book, an email will be sent to all attendees before and after the event with instructions on how to receive your copy. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong data-end=\"184\" data-start=\"130\"\u003eBooks must be claimed within 14 days following the event.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE BOOK\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed “rags-to-Rolex” life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in this \"funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit\" (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she’s been labeled too brash and too “of the world” by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn’t have many allies, but that hasn’t stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living the comfortable life her husband's power affords her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the final bit of validation she’s always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors’ wives—First Ladies—who are “like Jesus’ disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.” Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut as the pageant nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life implodes. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnflinchingly funny, frank, and splendidly unruly,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe True Confessions of First Lady Freeman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eexults in the luscious, messy pleasure of finally feeling free.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE AUTHOR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDeesha Philyaw\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s debut short story collection, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, won the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the Story Prize, the LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. Deesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, a Baldwin for the Arts Fellow, a United States Artists Fellow, and co-host of two podcasts, Ursa Short Fiction (with Dawnie Walton) and Reckon True Stories (with Kiese Laymon). She is currently at work developing TV shows based on her short fiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is the Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. Laymon is the author of Long Division, which won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for fiction, and the essay collection, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, named a notable book of 2021 by the New York Times critics. Laymon’s bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. The audiobook, read by the author, was named the Audible 2018 Audiobook of the Year. Laymon is the recipient of 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLaymon is at work on the books, Good God, and City Summer, Country Summer, and a number of other film and television projects. He is the founder of The Catherine Coleman Literary Arts and Justice Initiative, a program based out of the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University, aimed at aiding young people in Jackson get more comfortable reading, writing, revising and sharing on their on their own terms, in their own communities. He is the co-host of Reckon True Stories with Deesha Philyaw. Kiese Laymon was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eEvent Purchases Are Non-Refundable\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kindred Stories","offers":[{"title":"RSVP ONLY","offer_id":48802819834111,"sku":null,"price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"RSVP WITH BOOK","offer_id":48802819866879,"sku":"9780063383074-EVENT","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"RSVP (I ALREADY HAVE THE BOOK)","offer_id":48802819899647,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0527\/3577\/0820\/files\/Deesha.png?v=1783444613","url":"https:\/\/kindredstorieshtx.com\/products\/author-talk-the-true-confessions-of-first-lady-freeman-with-deesha-philyaw-november-16-7pm","provider":"Kindred Stories","version":"1.0","type":"link"}