The Secret Life of Bees

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Like the Boatwright sisters, many characters create their own definitions of family. How has your own understanding of family evolved throughout your life?

2. August teaches Lily that timing is everything—knowing "when to prod and when to be quiet." Reflect on a time when you learned a similar lesson about patience and timing.

3. The characters each have different ways of processing grief (e.g., May's wailing wall, June's music, and Lily's storytelling). What coping mechanisms have you observed or experienced in your own life? How did you judge them to be healthy or unhealthy?

4. How do you relate to Lily's journey of learning to mother herself? What does self-nurturing mean to you?

5. Throughout the novel, the characters must choose which stories about themselves to believe and live by. What stories have you chosen as a method of defining yourself? Have these narratives changed over time?

Examine the book's relevance to broader societal issues, cultural trends, and ethical dilemmas.

1. How does the novel's 1964 setting illuminate both progress and ongoing challenges in American race relations? What parallels can be drawn with the issues of today?

2. The novel explores different forms of feminine power and spirituality. How does this perspective challenge or complement traditional religious narratives?

3. Consider how the various mother figures in the novel challenge conventional ideas about motherhood. How has society's view of maternal roles evolved since the 1960s?

Dive into the book's structure, characters, themes, and use of narrative techniques.

1. How does Kidd's use of first-person memoir narration shape your understanding of events? What effect does the adult Lily's perspective have on the story?

2. Examine the symbolic significance of honey throughout the novel. How does it function as both a literal substance and a metaphor for preservation, healing, and sustenance?

3. How do the different settings (T. Ray's peach farm, the pink house, and the wailing wall) reflect the emotional states of the characters who inhabit them?

4. Consider May's role in the narrative. How does her extreme sensitivity serve as both a warning and a catalyst for other characters' growth?

5. What role does the Black Madonna play in both the plot and the thematic development of the novel? How does she function differently for different characters?