The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

"Knowing can be a curse on a person's life. I'd traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn't know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now."

I read The Secret Life of Bees several years ago and remembered that I really liked it. After my rereading I actually LOVE it! A rating of  5+! I just discovered that it was a debut novel for this author---an amazing start to her career. I recently read her historical fiction The Invention of Wings, which I enjoyed immensely. I am now looking for anything by this author that I have missed.

The story is told by Lily Owens,  the white 14-year-old daughter of an abusive father. She ends up running away with her nanny, a black woman named Rosaleen.  The setting of the story is South Carolina just after passage of the Civil Rights Act, providing much of the conflict, as I am sure you can imagine. Lily and Rosaleen are given refuge by the "Calendar sisters," three black ladies who run a bee business. August Boatwright, one of the sisters, is such a wonderfully loving character! When she tells Lily that "bees have a secret life we don't know anything about," Lily compares it to the secret life she is living. Although she feels safe with the Boatwright sisters, she can't bring herself to tell August of the guilt she has carried since she was four and her mother died.

I learned a great deal about bees and honey from the novel. Each chapter begins with a factual quote about bees but the care that is given them by the sisters makes them seem like charming critters. I never knew that honey is used medicinally either. The religion practiced by the sisters which hints at Catholicism with a twist, features Black Mary, another aspect of the story with which I was unfamiliar. But when Rosaleen told Lily her mother wove and sold sweet grass baskets, I could totally identify; we have one we purchased in Charleston.

This is a beautiful story of love, acceptance, forgiveness and redemption. I recommend it highly!