"I knew that the explosion I'd heard that day had killed her. The sound still sneaked into my head once in awhile and surprised me."(p.17) This is the memory that changed Lily's(the main character) life forever. This moment defines her. This moment is the basis around her whole journey to finding out who she really is as a person. The Secret Life Of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd shows me that there is a long journey before someone is able to heal, physically or emotionally.
Throughout the book Lily learns how to deal with pain.T. Ray is what Lily calls her father. He is an abusive man who tortures his daughter. He doesn't truly care about her. His worst punishment for her is making her kneel on uncooked grits until her knees bleed. This book shows me that sometimes in life the people who are the nicest to you should be the meanest and the meanest should be the nicest.
Lily also learns how to deal with the truth. Lily's father told her that her mother never loved her.There is a moment when her father says, "Your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she'd come back to get her things, that's all... the memory settled over me."(p.40) She wants to believe it isn't true. She keeps telling herself that her father was lying to make her feel bad. This shows me that sometimes in life you don't expect one thing to change your whole perspective of someone. You don't expect for someone you love to turn their back on you.
"I felt I had caused it, that when I'd lifted the gun, the sound had torn through the room and gouged out our hearts."(p.17) Lily is constantly remembering the night when she picked up her mother's gun and shot her mother. Even though she was young she still knows she's responsible and I don't think she will ever forgive herself. She is sad and angry with herself at the same time. She thinks it was all her fault. Lily learns how to deal with grief and take responsibility. This portion of the book shows me that sometimes in life you blame yourself for things you can't change. You live in the past with "what ifs", but you have to start living in the present before you are fully able to start healing.
Overall this is an amazing book. This book allows you to look deep into the characters and discover their many layers. This book has many great life lessons that anyone could use in some aspect of their life. I would most definitely recommend this book to someone. It should be a must read on every one's book list.
