The Secret Life of Bees

Okay, so most of you have already read The Secret Life of Bees...I was procrastinating...in part because my passive/aggressive father suggested that I read it. Regardless...it was a very moving story that resonated in me, despite it being set a couple of years before I was even born. Much like Lily, I was raised by someone else, except that my mother was alive and well...she just worked all of the time.

A few years ago, my oldest sister and mother were arguing and my mom snapped at her *who do you think raised you?* and without skipping a beat, we both answered *Minnie.* It was said without malice, because it was what it was. Minnie was our surrogate mother and our savior. I can't imagine how lonely, barren and bereft our lives would have been without her. She passed away when I was young teenager and it was very difficult. I had never really realized that I was white, probably because I was Jewish and an outsider, until her funeral service...when the preacher made me keenly aware and ashamed of it.

Many years later, a friend of mine here in Jackson lost his mother and I went to her funeral. I knew I was headed for trouble the instant I walked into the church and saw her in the casket, looking so much like Minnie my heart almost stopped. I was not sure what I expected, but it was a moving and loving tribute. As the service progressed, my grief was as raw and as real as anyone there. Before it was over, I was openly sobbing. It was a gut wrenching catharsis.

Anyway, it was a good book and I highly recommend it.