Part family story, part beekeeping odyssey, The Honey Bus is a rich and lyrical memoir of a girl who journeyed into the hive-and found herself.

The bees became a guiding force in May's life, teaching her about family and survival, and it was during this pivotal time in May's childhood that she learned to take care of herself. May turned to her grandfather and the art of beekeeping as an escape from her troubled reality.

Everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees. That first close encounter was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May. She was five years old, her parents had recently split and suddenly she found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. Meredith May recalls the first time a honeybee crawled on her arm. Part memoir, part beekeeping odyssey, The Honey Bus is an remarkable story about finding home in the most unusual of places, and how a tiny, little-understood insect could save a life.An unforgettable story about finding home in the most unusual of places, and how a tiny, little-understood insect could save a life. The bees became a guiding force in May’s life, teaching her about family and community, loyalty and survival and the unequivocal relationship between a mother and her child. It was during this pivotal time in May’s childhood that she learned to take care of herself, forged an unbreakable bond with her grandfather and opened her eyes to the magic and wisdom of nature. Her mother had receded into a volatile cycle of madness and despair and spent most days locked away in the bedroom. May was drawn to the art of beekeeping as an escape from her troubled reality. That first close encounter with a bee was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May, and in that moment she discovered that everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees. An extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather, and one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee. An extraordinary story of a young girl who finds solace in one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee.

The honey bus book