3 Review(s)

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, is set in 1964, and acknowledges the predicament of loss and betrayal. Summary of the Book Lily Melissa Owens is a 14-year-old white girl living in South California. The killing of her mother on an afternoon is a residual nostalgia in her life. She has an abusive father and they have an African-American maid called Rosaleen, who acts as a surrogate mother for Lily. One day, Lily discovers bees in her bedroom. Rosaleen is arrested for pouring ‘snuff juice’ on three white men, and Lily gets her out of the hospital and both leave town. On their way, they spend a night in the woods, before reaching Tiburon. They buy lunch at a store and Lily finds a picture of the same ‘Black Mary’ on the side of the jar, and they receive directions to the origin of that honey. They meet the makers of the honey and are invited to stay at their place. What course does the life of Lily and Rosaleen take from there? About Sue Monk Kidd Sue Monk Kidd is an American writer. A graduate of Texas Christian University, with a B.S. in Nursing, Monk Kidd has worked as a registered nurse and college nursing instructor at Medical College of Georgia for several years. She has also written: The Invention of Wings, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, The Mermaid Chair, and When the Heart Waits.