Seleh's Bed — Jenoyne Adams

With this sensual, heartrending second novel, bestselling author Jenoyne Adams further establishes herself as a stunning talent. Probing and engaging, Selah's Bed explores how a woman can use sex to gain acceptance, escape her past, and even endanger her soul.
Selah Wells looks for salvation through sex and in her photography of nude black men. She feels most alive under the touch of new hands. But she's married to a minister, and, as the adage goes, secrets done in the dark will come to the light. Interweaving scenes from Selah's adult life, including the loss of her only child, and moments from her childhood -- spent in a lively housing project -- Adams deftly depicts Selah's journey. As her grandmother's health deteriorates and her husband immerses himself in the work of God, Selah's latest lover, Peter, tries to get her to confront her fear and anger. Unable to relinquish regrets that have fueled her behavior all these years, Selah resists. But when she is pushed to the emotional brink by an unexpected turn of events, she must finally face her past and begin to make peace with God, her husband, her lost child, and herself.