The Secret Life of Bees
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The year is 1964 and the Civil Rights Act has just been signed into law. 14-year old Lilly lives with her abusive father, a Black caregiver, Rosaleen, and the disquieting knowledge that she was the innocent perpetrator of her mother’s accidental death.
After a violent act of racism and abuse, Rosaleen and Lilly take to the road.
When the two stop at a general store, Lilly spies a label on a jar of honey that features a Black Madonna. It is the same image she found in her mother’s few possessions. Following a deep-seated longing to know the mother she lost, she convinces Rosaleen to go with her to the house of the three Black sisters who make the honey.
The Secret Life of Bees is a story of the importance of community, not just through times of isolation and trauma but also through the challenges of daily life.
Lilly and Rosaleen find the safety, identity and community they need to heal. In return, they become a support for the emotional fragility of one sister and the romantic hard-headedness of the other.
When Lilly falls in love with a Black man and again experiences racism, she learns the true power of extended community.
With sub-texts of the search for family, interracial relationships, suicide, domestic violence and mental illness, this is an excellent resource to generate discussion and learning.
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By: Nancy Leach Schaeffer
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 Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas may all involve gatherings with colleagues and friends, shopping, buying and preparing extra meals, overnight guests, and travel, not to mention worries about the weather or family members too frail or emotionally fragile to enjoy the season.
As people who may already be struggling with the overwhelming demands of supporting those who are in poverty or working to sustain community initiatives, how are we to cope?
In a word: b-r-e-a-t-h-e. Right now, as you sit at your computer, shut your eyes for a moment or two. Surrender your weight into the chair that holds you, relax your forehead, your shoulders, and your abdomen.
Notice that as you inhale your belly rises and as you exhale it gently falls again. Give yourself a mantra: inhale, silently saying “soft.” Exhale, saying “belly.” Or inhale… “relax,” exhale... “peace.”
The wonderful thing about using the breath as your focus is that it is portable. You can breathe when you’re sitting in traffic, standing in line at the store, or even holding the line with a feisty teenager.
Bringing your awareness to the breath brings you right into the present time – and away from revisiting the past or worrying about the future. So next time you notice how stressed you are, congratulate yourself on your awareness and take just a moment to rest.
Rest your awareness in the breath.
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By: Nancy Leach Schaeffer
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There’s no such thing as an ordinary bee.
Like many new graduates, Barry B. Benson is excited to enter the workforce and make a difference in his community, New Hive City.
But, Barry soon discovers that he wants more out of life than the inevitable career that awaits him at Honex, making honey like all the other bees. Instead, he wants to stop injustice and improve the quality of life for his fellow bees.
Despite the advice of his family and close friends, Barry flies off to make a difference and quickly realizes he is in over his head. Changing the world is no job for one bee.
 Like the challenges and issues we face in our very own communities, Barry begins to see how complex his community really is. He starts to collaborate with community leaders and residents, and gains a new appreciation for the contributions each worker bee makes to Honex.
And, in no time, everyone is working together to better New Hive City.
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By: Rachel Gainer
Banner Photos Courtesy
of Carl Hiebert.
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