The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is the story of Lily Owens and her search for family, love, and a true sense of belonging. Lily desperately longs to replace the guilt and abandonment she feels as the result of her mother’s death and become part of a loving and happy home.
Set in South Carolina in 1964 during the tumultuous Civil Rights Era, Lily struggles daily with her father’s abusive implications that she is responsible for her mother’s death. Unhappy at school and home, she is constantly chastised by her father and forced to work selling peaches from their farm at the roadside stand. Lily and Rosaleen, Lily’s African-American caretaker in her mother’s absence, run away to escape Lily’s bitterly abusive, widowed father as well as the social injustices in their small town, which have become apparent since Rosaleen insulted three of the town’s biggest racists. On impulse from a clue found amongst her dead mother’s few belongings, including a photograph, a pair of white gloves, and a framed picture of a black Madonna with the words “Tiburon South Carolina” carved on the back, and convinced that this picture holds the key to her mother’s past, Lily and Rosaleen find themselves on the run headed for Tiburon.
During the course of their journey, while making a purchase in a local general store, Lily spots a jar of honey labeled with the same black Madonna picture as the one found with her mother’s belongings. After a brief inquiry of the store owner, Lily and Rosaleen learn of August Boatwright’s honey making business and find themselves on their way to becoming guests in the Boatwright home.
When Lily arrives on August Boatwright’s doorstep, August instantly recognizes her as Deborah Owens’ daughter, in spite of Lily’s efforts to conceal her identity. Lily has no idea that August and Deborah Owens were acquainted for many years before her death, and that August knew of the circumstances surrounding Deborah’s death. After accepting August’s invitation to stay with her and her sisters, May and June, Lily soon realizes the significance of the black Madonna to the Boatwright’s and the other women of the community. The Boatwright sisters, or “calendar sisters,” as Lily calls them, worship the black Madonna and celebrate her strength. They celebrate her ability to empower women to come together to heal and mother each other and create a sanctuary of home and family. While the Madonna represents power, she is not magical, August tells Lily. She represents the mother that each woman carries inside herself and has to find inside herself. August, and independent and successful African-American, forms a unique and special relationship with Lily while teaching her how to tend the bees and make honey. Oddly, the life and habits of the bees in turn teach Lily many things about life, love, and relationships in general. Lily finds love and acceptance with the Boatwright’s that she never expects to find, especially from strangers.
The Secret Life of Bees is a wonderful, heart-warming story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The book provides an entertaining, as well as enlightening, account of a young girl’s transformation into a young woman. With the help and guidance of several inspiring women, a neglected and unloved young woman learns just how powerfully love can transform her life. I believe every young woman, friend, sister, and mother will enjoy the life lessons shared in this book.

Do contemporary women depend on the female community for guidance and support to the extent that was represented by the characters in the book?

Would this book be as touching and inspirational if the setting was another time period rather than during the civil rights era?

A bee colony closely resembles human society. Are there any other species that the author could have used as effectively as bees to convey her thoughts and ideas?