 | |
 |  Dear Reader,A few days ago a student interviewed me for her high school newspaper. "Could you describe The Secret Life of Bees in one word?" More typically the question is worded: Could you describe the novel in one sentence? Did she say one word? As a rule I avoid trying to squeeze into one sentence, much less one word, what took me three and a half years to write, but I surprised myself by answering "Homecoming". Homecoming? I suppose "coming-of-age" would have been the more predictable response. Still, when fourteen-year-old Lily runs away from home and ends up with August, June and May in the pink house, she finds an unlikely place of love and nurture. She finds a place of belonging. In other words, she finds home. Homecoming is a universal theme, not only in books, but deep in the human heart, and it's a theme that takes on an exquisite edge this time of year. Actually, I'm more than a little suspicious that my answer to the student reporter was highly influenced by the advent of the holidays. The phrase "Home for the Holidays" had turned up no fewer than three times in my mailbox the same day I spoke with her-- across the front of a catalog, inside a greeting card, and on a animal shelter newsletter featuring a photo of a litter of puppies and the headline: "In Need of a Home for the Holidays." It had triggered a subtle nostalgia in me-- thoughts of the particular place down in Georgia where I grew up, my parents' one hundred and sixty year old farm house sitting at the end of a pine-tree-lined, dirt road. For Lily, though, home is not confined to the place where she grows up. It is so much larger than that and wonderfully unconventional. In The Secret Life of Bees it turns out that home can be found in improbable places, with unexpected people. Despite my nostalgia for the house of my childhood, I tend to believe that home can exist wherever we find it, wherever love and genuine community are created. It has been nearly three years since The Secret Life of Bees first came out, and I still fluctuate between awe and disbelief when I consider its success. This season I want to send you my deepest gratitude for your response to Lily's story of finding home at last, and to wish you holidays that are filled with homecomings. Sue Monk Kidd |
 | |
| Dear Sue Monk Kidd Readers: When we read the heartwarming stories readers have shared on our discussion forums, or the outpouring of support readers have given to Sue, it’s easy to see why The Secret Life of Bees continues to be a favorite choice for book clubs across the nation. As of this month, The Secret Life of Bees has more than three million copies in print and readers are already buzzing (forgive the pun!) in anticipation over the follow-up to her incredible debut. And we here at Penguin are so looking forward to bringing you The Mermaid Chair, a transcendent tale graced with Sue’s gift for incandescent storytelling and powerful symbolism. We hope that you and your friends are ready to discover more about yourselves and each other through the stunning tale of Jessie Sullivan, a woman who returns to the South Carolina island home of her youth to help her ailing mother and, ultimately, discovers her own true self. We think that Sue’s powerful tale of love and healing will inspire the kind of lively discussions that The Secret Life of Bees continues to do and hope that you’ll add your voice to the readers’ roundtable. We are excited for the discussion to begin on Sue’s new novel, which will be available to you on April 5, 2005. Sue has already initiated the conversation in earlier newsletter messages, suggesting why she chose the mermaid as a central motif and hinting at numerous themes in the novel-- from marriage to the deep and complex journey a woman travels toward self-belonging. Why is the myth of the mermaid such a powerful fascination in so many cultures? What does the image of the mermaid symbolize? What forces pull a woman toward renewal and self-awakening? What are the tensions between freedom and restraint that sometimes arise in mid-life marriages? These are the kinds of things we will be discussing in the months to come. But please don’t stop writing to us about Bees! If you’re in a reading group that discussed Bees, please tell us about it. You can email us at: readinggroups@us.penguingroup.com We’d love to hear all about who you are, what else you’d like to read, and what kind of discussion your group had about Bees. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted on all the news about both books and, of course, new messages from Sue. Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season, Penguin Group (USA) |
 | ||
| | |
Contact us at ReadingGroups@ us.penguingroup.com and we'll send you reading group guides and all the latest news. | ||
 | ||
| ||
 | ||
 Available in Paperback Amazon Barnes & Noble Booksense | ||
| | ||
| Available April 5, 2005  Pre-order your copy Amazon Barnes & Noble Booksense | ||
| | ||
| Join our Open Forum for real time conversations with other readers. | ||
| | ||
| Did you miss any of Sue's Newsletters? October '06 September '06 March '06 February '06 August '05 June '05 April '05 March '05 February '05 January '05 December '04 November '04 September '04 August '04 | ||
| | ||
Ann Kidd Taylor This message is being sent by the Penguin Group (USA) Inc. to subscribers of Sue Monk Kidd’s newsletter. click here to Unsubscribe | ||