The Honey Bus
“A fascinating and hopeful book of family, bees, and how even when children are overwhelmed with despair, nature has special ways to keep them safe.”
KIRKUS
“Do not pass up on this book.”
USA TODAY
“May delivers a powerful account of growing up in 1970s California. May learned that, unlike her mother, she needed to look at what she had—her grandfather and a gift for beekeeping—rather than what was missing. May’s chronicle of overcoming obstacles and forging ahead is moving and thoughtful.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY
“May mines her deeply upsetting personal history in this sharply visceral memoir.”
BOOKLIST
“This touching memoir celebrates family, the lessons we can learn from nature, a marvelous little insect, and those heroic grandparents who, even when things fall apart, ensure the center can hold.”
AMAZON EDITOR’S PICK – Best Biographies & Memoirs
“As a kid growing up in a turbulent household, she found refuge in the magical world of these industrious pollinators, getting lost in their buzzing virtuosity.”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Full story: San Francisco Chronicle
“One of the best book club reads of 2019.”
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION
“Captivating and surprising … If you’ve ever been stung by a bee you will instantly forget the venom and remember forever the sweetness and redemption bees offer in this extraordinary book.”
SY MONTGOMERY, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus
“Filled with hope, grace, beauty, and wisdom, this book is like warm honey in the sunshine. It beautifully illustrates how nature – even honeybees – can teach and heal us, if only we open our minds and hearts. It’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished it—a rare treasure—and you don’t have to be a bee lover to be deeply moved by May’s wonderful story. I’m recommending it to everyone I know.”
STACEY O’BRIEN, New York Times bestselling author of Wesley the Owl
“The wounded feminine, the missing masculine, healed by a relationship with honeybees. An innocent child’s hard won journey to adulthood – clear eyed, often very funny, and agonizingly compassionate. The Honey Bus is all these things and more – so if you’ve ever been a lonely child, or want the world to become a kinder place, here is your book.”
LALINE PAULL, author of The Bees
“If Meredith May’s book was simply an ethology of bees I would devour every word; her prose is tender, thoughtful, and transporting. But The Honey Bus is so much more – a memoir of aching loneliness, reckoning, and redemption. Beautiful and brave.”
DOMENICA RUTA, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You: A Memoir
The Honey Bus is a rare treat for true storytelling deeply rooted in science. Everyone will leave this book with much more knowledge about bees and humanity, and the compassion that lives at the intersection of the two. A captivating coming of age family story.”
NOAH WILSON-RICH, Ph.D., author of The Bee: A Natural History
“To read about Meredith May’s bee family and her human family is to garner heart strength. A true story in every sense.”
MAXINE HONG-KINGSTON, bestselling author of The Woman Warrior
“Sometimes when you are in a difficult spot in life you are best served by simply turning to another species and learn how they deal with their difficulties. Meredith May did that with honey bees.”
SUE HUBBELL, bestselling author of A Book of Bees
Loving Edie
“Loving Edie is a testament to just how far we go for those we love.”
SHONDALAND.COM
“Loving Edie is a delightful lesson in patience, self-reflection, and hope.”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“A gorgeous memoir that will leave no one untouched.”
REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE
“Sometimes the dog we want doesn’t match the dog we get. Anyone who has ever felt disappointed or frustrated by the realities of dog parenting will feel so much less alone after reading this book. Loving Edie is a truly rewarding story of a very sensitive pup and her loving humans evolving together messily, honestly, and beautifully.”
JULIE BARTON, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me From Myself
“With a journalist’s introspection and a poet’s heart, Meredith May movingly captures the bravery in loving another living being, and why love is always worth it because it teaches us so much.”
STEVEN ROWLEY, bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Guncle
“Love Loving Edie! Not every dog can be brave, but Meredith May’s new memoir makes clear that scaredy dogs can love fiercely and teach mere humans powerful lessons.”
CLIVE D.L. WYNNE, Ph.D., Director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, and author of Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You
I, Who Did Not Die
“Their tale is quite remarkable … a fascinating and ultimately uplifting exploration of cultures unknown to many.”
KIRKUS
“To understand the rage in the Middle East, history should be told by the individuals who live it. I, Who Did Not Die is gut-wrenching, essential, shocking, and beautifully told. It is a rare examination of the absurdity of a war fought by children and young men who were victims of the brutal dictators they were forced to serve. This powerful tale of two men whose lives collide on the battlefield shows that acts of mercy are the ultimate triumph of compassion over hate. Absolutely required reading!”
AFSCHINEH LATIFI, author of Even After All This Time
“This is a miracle tale—a vivid and wrenching story told by two soldiers who opposed each other on the battlefield, but through grace, courage, and an astonishing twist of fate, ultimately manage to save each other.”
SARA CORBETT, author of A House In The Sky
“The words come alive like a movie, like being transported inside ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai,’ ‘Battle for Haditha,’ or ‘Three Kings’. Everyone, regardless of skin color, ethnicity, or religion, should read this book to vaccinate themselves against human ignorance, religious intolerance and political manipulation.”
PIERRE RAZOUX, author of The Iran-Iraq War
Meredith May 