What an honor to speak with the one and only Deesha Philyaw. Deesha's book Secret Lives of Church Ladies won the 2021 Pen/Faulkner Award, 2020/21 Story Prize, 2020 LA Times Book Prize and was a Finalist 2020 National Book For Fiction. On this podcast, Deesha speaks about her family in Jacksonville, and their influences on her upbringing. What it was like to write during a pandemic, and what strategies she use to produce some of her best work yet. Later in the podcast, we find out what Deesha is really good at besides the pen and the paper. You will never guess! And what here next big project is coming soon. Website: https://www.deeshaphilyaw.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeshaphilyaw/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/deeshaphilyaw