A TO ZEN

the secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking Press, 2002)

You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside.
÷sue monk kidd

Regrets and redemption, love and loss, forgiveness and friendship. These seem like simplistic themes. But this is the stuff that keeps us awake at night. The Secret Life of Bees is a coming-of-age story. Set in 1964 in segregated South Carolina against the two unique backdrops of civil rights and bee-keeping, and written memoir style, Kidd shows us the simplicity of love despite the complexities and the baggage we bring to it.

Lily Owens, the 14-year-old protagonist, is abused by her father. T Ray is a hard man who is unable to show any affection towards his daughter. Lily runs away from home with her black caretaker, Rosaleen, after Rosaleen is beaten and jailed on her way to register to vote, in the wake of President Johnsonâs signing of the Civil Rights Act.

They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina, a place Lily knows only from words written on the back of a picture of a black Madonna which belonged to her mother. She hardly remembers her mother, but knows that she died during unfortunate circumstances when Lily was small. Lily knows that she had a part in her motherâs death, but sheâs not quite sure what it was.

When they reach Tiburon, they discover that the black Madonna is the label from a certain brand of honey made here. They are serendipitously led to the calendar sisters: May, June, and August Boatwright, in whose care they are temporarily placed. August runs a honey farm and puts both Lily and Rosaleen to work, and Lily finds herself being parented by the most delightful group of women of color.

For the first time in her life, Lily is free to enjoy and take comfort in her surroundings. This coming-of-age child struggles with the death of her mom, the guilt of deceiving August, the lack of love and the abuse from her dad, and even the guilt she feels about being white. She learns important lessons about the nature of life through the connection these women share.

An important symbol in the novel is the mourning wall, built stone-by-stone and anxiety-by-anxiety by May Boatwright. Mayâs soul simply canât take the sadness the rest of the world faces, so she attempts to rid herself of the sorrow by constructing her wall and writing all lifeâs sorrows on small slips of paper left pressed between the stones. We all question the sources of our strength. Weâve all faced times in our lives when we needed to feel that we matter, but this can happen at 14, 44 or any other time. This delicate story tells of self-discovery within a uniquely blended family setting where all characters experience growth.

Yes, parts of the book may seem silly and predictable. However, that doesnât make for any less powerful a lesson or less enjoyable a read. This is an engaging, thought-provoking novel of love, loss, human nature, and forgiveness. The author uses bees as a framing device, the crisp writing and strong narrative are believable, and the story is laced with bee metaphor and symbolism. The characters are loveable and memorable.

The larger lesson in all of this is that we all need to let ourselves be mothered by whomever and in whatever form we receive it. It may come from our dad, it may come from a teacher, it may come from our children, or our friends. The good news is that, if we let it, it will come. Bees will make you cry a little, think a lot, and laugh out loud. Maybe honey cures more than we think it does.

÷shirley sandridge

Shirley Sandridge is an English Literature major at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, and is scheduled to graduate (finally!) in June â04. She is a single mom with a 30-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, the office manager for Kemp & Co. at Keller Williams Capital Partners Realty, and firmly believes in the philosophy that those challenges that donât kill us will surely make us stronger.