Written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees is about a fourteen-year-old white girl, Lily, who lives with her father after accidentally shooting her mother when he was only four years old. She is raised by her nanny and housekeeper, an African American named Rosaleen. Lily lives with the guilt of killing her mother. After times get tough in Sylvan, South Carolina, having to deal with Lily's evil father and horrible racism, Lily and Rosaleen decide to pack their bags and leave. The novel begins in Sylvan, South Carolina, in 1964, a time when African Americans began earning their rights. Lily lived with her mother, Deborah, her father, T. Ray, and her African-American nanny and housekeeper, Rosaleen. Deborah, having had enough of T.Ray's horrible attitude and wickedness, left Lily and her husband. She ended up in Tiburon, South Carolina, in what's 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 only to bring Lily back to live with the Boatwright sisters. When T.Ray enters his room where Deborah is packing her bags with Lily, he hits her and starts yelling at her. Lily, hides in the closet, sees a gun, takes it and shoots. The bullet hits Deborah and kills her. Lily was only four years old at the time and was unable to understand what she had done. Lily calls her father T.Ray because she believes he is not a real father to her and does not deserve the title "dad". After ten years of enduring T.Ray's verbal abuse, Lily and Rosaleen decide to pack their bags and leave town. During their journey, they encounter horrible racism where Rosaleen is… at the center of the card… or Lily's journey to a much larger community of women. At the Boatwright home, Lily sees how strong women support, care, comfort, encourage, and love others by seeing the bonds between the Daughters of Mary. The Secret Life of Bees shows the importance of storytelling. Lily loves to read and understands the importance of storytelling as a way to escape difficult situations. At the beginning of the novel, Lily recalls two memories related to reading. Once, T.Ray teases her for reading by saying she is a nerd and another time when a teacher praises her for reading. He recognizes that books are a great way to relieve stress and are good ways to learn what to do in difficult times. Lily wants to be a writer. August always tells Lily stories to help her learn to love and trust. Through books and stories, Lily sees possibilities for her life.