Sue Monk Kidd

Biography

Sue Monk Kidd (born 1948) grew up in Sylvester, Georgia — the South of the novel is autobiographical in texture if not in event. She worked as a nurse and then turned to writing, first nonfiction spiritual memoir (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter) and then fiction. The Secret Life of Bees was her debut novel, published in 2002 when she was in her fifties. It became a phenomenon: a million copies sold in its first year, a decade on the bestseller list, a 2008 film adaptation. Kidd has spoken about her experience with a mystical feminine spirituality that developed during a crisis of faith — a journey directly reflected in Lily's arc.

Sue Monk Kidd at a glance