What Deesha Philyaw’s million dollar book deal can teach us about faith

In Philyaw and songwriter Kirk Franklin’s journeys, we unearth spiritual wisdom in personal and professional persistence that transcends the realms of literature and music.

“Notes on faith” is theGrio’s inspirational, interdenominational series featuring Black thought leaders across faiths.

In certain circles, a collective shout of joy went up last week when news broke of Deesha Philyaw’s seven-figure, two-book deal following the success of her 2020 short story collection, “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.” If you have not already gotten a copy of this book, go ahead and get it — and get your entire life. 

After reading the first few pages, I was hooked. Through a series of clandestine fictional relationships, Philyaw adeptly uncovered much of what we know to be Black women’s homosocial lives — that is, socializing among women, honey. She delves into the stuff we whisper in the church narthex yet won’t actually admit to, for fear of incrimination. She is a storyteller for the people, giving us a peep into narratives that are juicy and deeply human within the context of “the Black church.” They are stories that put to rest the popular perception of the “church lady” as monolithically “straight-laced” with no intrigue or spice. Au contraire; church ladyhood is filled with pearl-clutching shenanigans that are far more captivating than predominantly male storytelling would have us believe. 

Philyaw is one of two creatives, the other being gospel megastar Kirk Franklin, who showed us this week that our communities are ready to be challenged and stronger than we think — and that exploring our stories is a vital process for communal healing and getting to joy. On the page and onscreen, we are witnessing a rising tide of storytellers who are filling the void this generation is demanding, that of transparent truth-telling. These fuller stories heal us because they are truer to our lived experiences; stories that are untidy, in progress, and unresolved, featuring protagonists on a committed journey to defining, realizing, and becoming themselves. 

In a world often driven by commercial success and immediate recognition, Philyaw’s triumph as a writer provides profound spiritual lessons about perseverance and a commitment to the pursuit of amplifying neglected yet important voices. The story behind the collection of shorts is that Philyaw, a brilliant Black woman writer in her 50s, experienced multiple rejections of her manuscript before it became a runaway bestseller. Eclipsed by her US deal, Philyaw simultaneously hit the motherload with an offer from Doubleday UK in a reported five-way auction for her first novel, “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman.” Also inspired by the church, it is described as “a biting satire of the Black church and a deeply provocative story about sexual agency, family, friendship, and getting free,” with an “unforgettable main character” who is the first lady of a major megachurch, as reported in industry outlet The Bookseller.

Such success after Philyaw’s decades-long focus is illustrative of the phrase “Delay is not denial.” It provides us with a real-life account of what it means to be a “church girl” walking in her faith, perhaps to the chagrin of some church folks. I am reminded of Psalm 126:1, imagining that at this point in her journey, she must be arriving at this juncture, exhaling like those who dreamed.

A Yearning for More Authentic Stories

The stories aren’t only fictional. Similarly, we recently saw the debut of the self-identified “Church Boy” Kirk Franklin’s new 35-minute documentary, “Father’s Day: A Kirk Franklin Story.” In it, he allowed us to witness the unspoken pain within his family and his pursuit to uncover his own paternity despite adoption, rejection from his birth mother, and the mortifying quest to determine who his father might be within his very small town. Without any spoilers, Franklin’s unveiling of his untold story is no doubt a heartfelt backdrop for the 30th-anniversary reunion tour of his former group, God’s Property, famed for the chart-topping hit “Stomp.”

While a brilliant marketing strategy for his new album, the documentary addresses some of the root causes of Franklin’s more controversial traits through an autobiographical story. While debating its “authenticity,” viewers are nevertheless talking about how deeply his journey resonates with them.

At face value, these two writers — a book author and a songwriter — may not correlate. But their courage in expressing truths and challenging societal norms or injustices, especially in the realms of pleasure reading and entertainment, are potentially paradigm-shifting. They teach us important lessons about the sort of compass we need to find or create when experiencing a delay in what is driving us:

Have faith in your calling; that thing or mission that is driving you. Philyaw’s commitment to her craft and her dedication to telling stories that matter reflects a deep faith in her calling as a writer. She tells stories like she knows the characters in the flesh. She tells the story like she feels it — and we feel it, too. That commitment kept her motivated. 

So, too, with Kirk Franklin. He persisted in exploring what family, particularly fatherhood, means to him. Though sometimes faltering, he was determined to make meaning of the journey in a manner that is deeply moving to behold.

Remember, in the meantime, delay is not denial. Over and over again, accomplished people have attested that their dogged determination, that deep knowing is what saved them. Philyaw’s experience of having her work rejected by several major publishers before finding a home for her debut book teaches us about the power of resilience and divine timing. 

We find in her story and Franklin’s that in the spiritual realm, it’s often the challenges and setbacks that test our resolve and help us grow. Her determination to keep submitting her work is a lesson in not letting external obstacles deter us from doing the work exactly how we feel it. Sometimes success comes in its own time; not necessarily when we expect it but in a way where we can be completely ourselves.

Empathy is a key ingredient in our creation and experience of meaningful work. In the documentary “Father’s Day,” Franklin modeled for many of us the inarticulable dynamics of being a child born to children and the ways in which we may or may not get the parents we deserve. He also challenges us to talk about the ways in which a church — an entire close-knit community — can fail a child.

In Philyaw and Franklin’s journeys, we unearth spiritual wisdom in personal and professional persistence that transcends the realms of literature and music. These two forward-thinking storytellers teach us the importance of unwavering faith in our missions, regardless of the delays or rejections we encounter publicly and privately. Their resilience in the face of setbacks serves as a powerful reminder that divine timing often orchestrates our paths to success. Their works resonate deeply because they nurture empathy and connection, unveiling the beauty and complexity of the human experience. Philyaw and Franklin challenge us to embrace authentic storytelling as a means of confronting societal norms and fostering the understanding we long for. In the end, their stories inspire us to trust our unique journeys and recognize that, in time, our narratives can touch hearts and catalyze transformative change.

I will remember that delay is not denial.

I am receptive to the journey, knowing that the wait is part of the proper alignment of my path.

My perspective is necessary.

So, too, are the voices of the people that I bring into the room with me.

May I be content.

May I be seasoned in appreciating the interval.

And on the other side, I already know the journey will be like those who dreamed.

Rev. Dr. Alisha Lola Jones is a faith leader helping people to find their groove in a fast-paced world, as a consultant for various arts and faith organizations and professor of music in contemporary societies at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. She is an award-winning author of Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance (Oxford University Press). For more information, please visit DrAlisha.com.

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