Decadent. Daring. Delicious. From the multi-prize winning author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, the dazzlingly funny novel about one woman's (sometimes misguided) search for acceptance. Meet Scharisse Freeman, the Beyoncé 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). Hers is a rags-to-Rolex story. From the moment she ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she’s been labelled too brash by the First Ladies and too holy by her estranged childhood friend, Petra. Schar doesn’t have a lot of allies, but that hasn’t stopped her from building an empire spanning from books to branded products - a comfortable life her mother could only have dreamed of. On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the validation she’s always craved: an 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... Funny, smart, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is perfect for fans of books with buzz! 'The novel everyone is going to be talking about' JASMINE GUILLORY 'Funny and juicy and sexy' SAMANTHA IRBY 'Pure audacious joy!' BONNIE GARMUS 'Witty, raunchy, funny as hell' TIA WILLIAMS 'This novel is so alive!' RAVEN LEILANI 'I laughed, I cried, I got turned on! A heroine you can’t help but root for.' RUFI THORPE © Deesha Philyaw 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026