The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
by 13 people |
Ranked #2,436 in Arts , #54,395 overall | Donates to Squidoo Charity Fund
A Coming of Age Novel About Abuse, Racism and Spirit Rising Above It All
The story takes place in Monk Kidd's home of South Carolina during the tumultuous 60's. When Rosaleen goes to register to vote she is accosted by 3 white racists bent on stopping her. She fights back and is beaten nearly to death and then arrested for assault.
Lily rescues her and the two of them become fugitives. Lily's only guide is a postcard of her mother's. She heads towards the honey farm on the card. What she finds are the mothers of her life, the same black women who had tried to mother her own mother.
This story is a fascinating portrayal of a dark time in American history that was the beginning of a better world. We learn more about this time as it is acted out through the life of this girl, her mother and the mothers of her life.
Lily's Story
Sue Monk Kidd
Sue Monk Kidd is the author of numerous Guidepost articles, books on spirituality and two novels, both with political and spiritual themes.She grew up listening to her father's stories and wanted to become a writer, a goal that was encouraged by her teachers who acknowledged her talents. However, when she went to college she took a more traditional rout and went into nursing. She attributed this to, "inexplicable twist that is partly due to a failure of courage and partly due to the cultural climate of the South in 1966,".
She was a nurse for years, while marrying a theology student, Sanford Kidd, and raising two children. Just before her 30th birthday, she got the writing bug again and attended classes at the small college where her husband taught.
She began her career as a freelance essayist, contributing many articles to the conservative Guidepost and Reader's Digest magazines. In her 30's she also began to explore the spiritual writings of people such as Thomas Merton and C.G. Jung. She was one of the first students at the Haden Institute for Spiritual Direction.
Her career flourished as she became a contributing editor at Guideposts and began writing books about the Christian life.
However, in the 90's she had an awakening. Visiting her daughter who was working in a drug store, seeing the way her daughter was treated, she began to see things through feminist eyes. She was still profoundly Christian, but could not ignore what she saw and what her daughter experienced because she was a girl.
In The Dance of the Dissident Daughter she talks about the sacrifices she knew she would have to make to follow her new path. The conservative Christian following that had been the base of her career left her and some attacked. However, she knew she had to forge a new way.
She began her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees in 1997. It was published in 2002. It has sold over 3 and 1/2 million copies and will be released as a movie starring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifa in October of 2008.
She lives on a salt marsh near Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and their black lab, Lily.
The Themes of Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd's Web Site
- Sue Monk Kidd
- Movie buffs will especially enjoy the insights into the making of the movie. Hey, I learned a few inside secrets to the magic from this.
- Book Browser Interview
- Insights into the novels of Sue Monk Kidd.
I Have Been Waiting for This Movie Since I Read the Book
The 2008 Movie
- The Movie Link
- The movie is coming soon, I won't miss it!
Secrect Life of Bees: The Movie Coming in 2008
Trailors and Clips from The Secret Life of Bees
Please Share Your Thoughts on The Secret Life of Bees
and on This Lens, Stars Always Welcome!
cjjc wrote...
This is out now. thanks for bringing it to my attention. I love movies and don't want to miss it!
5*, a tweet and a FAV for you, my dear!
Posted March 28, 2009
julcal wrote...
Thanks for turning me on to this! I'm not much of a movie-goer, although my husband is - so i go with him, for him. I'll bring this up as a such suggestion next weekend. This weekend we're going to see Knowing.
5*, FAV, tweet and Facebook ! YOU GOT IT!!!
Posted March 28, 2009
Tracy-Russell wrote...
I just saw the movie on dvd. I really enjoyed it and cried of course. Thanks for sharing this information.
Posted February 17, 2009
OhMe wrote...
This lens is now featured on South Carolina Symbols and More. Thank you.
Posted February 02, 2009
OhMe wrote...
My hubby took me to see the movie last week and it was great. I cried, of course. I thought it was very well done.
Posted November 04, 2008
The New Library
Kindle: Amazon's Original Wireless Reading Device (1st generation)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
Any Purchase Here Will Contribute to Heifer International: The Pay It Forward Entrepreneurial Charity
Books by Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine (Plus)
Amazon Price: $10.94 (as of 07/12/2009)
When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions (Plus)
Amazon Price: $10.94 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Mermaid Chair
Amazon Price: $10.98 (as of 07/12/2009)
God's Joyful Surprise: Finding Yourself Loved
Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 07/12/2009)
Bloggers on The Secret Life of Bees
Come Blog With Me
Join my small business blog community
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byGetting Non Readers to Read
I ThinkThis Book Can Do It.
I hope that the movie will bring a whole new group of readers to this book. I even hope that it will make readers out of non readers. I think this book will be one of the books that can open up the world of reading to more people. Come Join My Salon
-
"A" is for "Arrowsmith"
-
I began this journey as a lens master on June 21, 2008. I started with the story of how my parents began their first small business. That first lens reached a top rank of 188 overall and 14 in business, and then started back down, getting as low as...
Margo's Library
-
The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice
-
Anne Rice is famous for some of the most intriguing and complicated Vampire and Witch sagas in American literature as well as completely unique erotic novels. These characters are written in sagas that evolve over volumes that take the characters an...
-
The Girls by Lori Lansens
-
"I have never looked into my sister's eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I've never used an airplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that. I've never driven a...
-
Mabel Stark: Tiger Whisperer
-
And she first did it before women even had the right to vote. Her life was defined by her passion for her tigers, her unsurpassed talent with them and her love for only one man, one of her five husbands, but the one who she loved almost as much as Ra...
-
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
-
I have read a lot of Stephen King in my life, and have enjoyed most of it, I like a good scare. But this one is different. The story, the edge of your chair kind of hold it got on me were the same, what I had come to expect from King... But this is...
-
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
-
And I have always gravitated towards the literature that tells well known stories from the view point of other characters, often lesser characters. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant tells the story of Joseph and the Colored Coat through the eyes of his...
by Margo_Arrowsmith
For Arrowsmith Printing 9/22/08
I was born into a small business, I believe that small business and entrepreneurs are the backbone of America and w... (more)
