Written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a fourteen-year-old white girl, Lily, who lives with her father after accidentally shot his mother. when she was only four years old. She is raised by her nanny and housekeeper, an African American woman named Rosaleen. Lily lives with the guilt of having killed her mother. After a difficult time in Sylvan, South Carolina, having to deal with Lily's evil father and horrible racism, Lily and Rosaleen decide to pack up and leave. The novel begins in Sylvan, South Carolina, in 1964, a time when African Americans were beginning to win their rights. Lily lived with her mother, Deborah, her father, T. Ray, and her African-American nanny and housekeeper, Rosaleen. Deborah, fed up with T.Ray's horrible attitude and meanness, left Lily and her husband. She ended up in Tiburon, South Carolina, in what is called the Boatwright House, a house filled with three African-American sisters, named August, June, and May. These sisters are very spiritual and kind people. Deborah, after living with the sisters for several months, decides to return to T. Ray and Lily to bring Lily back to live with the Boatwright sisters. When T.Ray enters his room and Deborah is packing her bags with Lily, he hits her and starts yelling at her. Lily, hides in the closet, sees a gun, picks it up and shoots. The bullet hit Deborah and killed her. Lily was only four years old at the time and unable to understand what she had done. Lily calls her father T. Ray because she thinks he's not a real father to her and doesn't deserve the title "daddy". After ten years of enduring verbal abuse from T.Ray, Lily and Rosaleen decide to pack their bags and leave town. During their journey they encounter horrible racism where Rosaleen finds herself in the middle of a paper or Lily's journey to a much larger female community. At the Boatwright House, Lily sees how strong women support, care, comfort, encourage, and love others by seeing the connections between the Daughters of Mary. The Secret Life of Bees shows the importance of storytelling. Lily loves reading and realizes the importance of telling stories as a way to escape difficult situations. At the beginning of the novel, Lily recalls two memories related to reading. One time T.Ray makes fun of her for reading saying she's a nerd and another time a teacher praises her for reading. She agrees that books are a great way to reduce stress and learn what to do in difficult times. Lily wants to become a writer. August always tells Lily stories to help her learn to love and trust. Through books and stories, Lily sees the possibilities of her own life.