BOOK - "THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES" by Sue Monk Kidd

I just finished reading "THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES" by Sue Monk Kidd (2002) (302 pgs). I know, I know, it was published over 10 years ago and I'm probably the last person on the planet to read it, but I'm really glad that I did - FINALLY.  

FANTASTIC. From a 14 year old's perspective in South Carolina in 1964, living with an abusive father and mother who recently accidentally died. Her circumstances lead this young girl on a journey of discovery, spending a period of time living with 3 sisters who are beekeepers and Rosalee, her housekeeper who came with her. Beautifully written - the way the author arranges words in a sentence to describe things in a simple way is masterful. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rather than give away any more of the story (as if you haven't already read it - HA!), I wanted to share some passages that I thought were particularly well written - very descriptive - so creatively put together - that I hope will give you "warm fuzzies", will bring back memories of the story to you and/or will inspire YOU to read the book - FINALLY.

The story of 14 year-old Lily Owens, told by Lily Owens..............

"There had been a few times, though, just after I woke up, when I thought about my old house, and I would miss it for a second or two before I remembered kneeling on the kitchen floor with grits digging into my kneecaps or trying to step around a great big pile of T. Ray's nasty mood but usually landing right in it. I would remember him tearing into me, shouting Jesus H. Christ, Jesus H. Christ! The worst slap across the face I ever got was when I interrupted him to ask just what did the H. stand for anyway? One quick walk down memory land and the old-home feeling would blow right over." (Pg. 153)

"It was always a relief to empty your bladder.  Better than sex, that's what Rosaleen said. As good as it felt, though, I sincerely hopes she was wrong." (Pg. 163)

"If I ever managed to get to heaven after everything I'd done, I hoped I would get just a few minutes for a private conference with God. I wanted to say, Look, I know you meant well creating the world and all, but how could you let it get away from you like this? How come you couldn't stick with your original idea of paradise? People's lives were a mess." (Pg. 171)

"The last thing I expected was to fall asleep, but when there's a blow to the system, all the body wants to do is go to sleep and dream on it." (Pg. 174)

"Sometimes I didn't even feel like getting out of bed. I took to wearing my days-of-the-week panties out of order. It could be Monday and I'd have on underwear saying Thursday.  I just didn't care." (Pg. 215)

"I marched straight into August's room, a room filled with the smell of beeswax. I switched on a lamp and sat on the cedar chest at the end of her bed, where I folded and unfolded my hands eight or ten times. They were cool, damp, with a mind of their own. All they wanted to do was fidget and pop knuckles. I stuck them under my thighs." (Pg. 233)

"It is the peculiar nature of the world to go on spinning no matter what sort of heartbreak is happening." (Pg. 279)

"I'd heard August say more than once, "If you need something from somebody, always give that person a way to hand it to you." " (Pg. 298)

Joan