The third author to come to campus as part of President Hicks’ annual community-wide reading project, Sue Monk Kidd, engaged students, faculty, alumni, parents, and Rome community members in a presentation of her views about the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, and writing in general, during Homecoming Weekend. The book and author follow those in two previous years—All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg and Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger.
Kidd’s novel revolved around a teenage girl, a change from the previous two in which the protagonists were boys. All three novels have been set in the South. The author, who was introduced by her niece, Mary Beth Monk, a Darlington senior, used her experiences growing up in southwest Georgia to address the strength of women and their relationships, especially those of mothers and daughters in the book.
Kidd’s address was just one part of Homecoming Weekend, which also included Fall Parents Weekend. In addition to the alumni/Parent Pre-Game Picnic and Darlington vs. Trion Homecoming game, the Darlington Players presented a special performance of The Importance of Being Earnest.
