I just finished reading "The Secret Lives of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.

It was an interesting book and second novel I've read of her's. I like her writing because she is a southern woman author and her books are based on people who live in the south in areas I have lived in and am familiar with.

I read her second novel first: The Mermaid Chair

Both books left me with some unanswered question. So I did some research on the author.

I found out that she is a registered nurse,.....so am I.

I found out that she is mother of now grown children.....so am I.

I found out that she grew up southern and in the Baptist Church....so did I.

I found out that she has always wanted to write fiction......got me there!

I've toyed with the idea of "writing for fun and profit."

I'm enorously flattered by friends who tell me, "You should write a book!"

Her fictional books deal with her own spiritual "struggles" against organized religion.

I know of my own daughter's struggle with the same topic.

So I am pulled to look deeper into the fascination of the

often unacknowledged longing for the universal feminine divine.

That could be an interesting trip......

Here's a summary of the book:

A powerful story of coming-of- age, race-relations, the ability of love to transform our lives and the often unacknowledged longing for the universal feminine divine, the novel tells the story of a fourteen year old Lily, who runs away with her black housekeeper in 1964 in South Carolina and the sanctuary they both find in the home of three eccentric beekeeping sisters.

The Secret Life of Bees has sold more than 3.5 million copies, spent over eighty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and been published in more than 20 languages. It was awarded the 2004 Book Sense Paperback book of the Year, nominated for the Orange Prize in England and chosen as Good Morning America’s Read This! Book Club pick. Taught widely now in college and high school class rooms, The Secret Life of Bees is fast becoming a modern classic.