Sue Monk Kidd and Parkinson’s Disease
In September 2024 Sue revealed her Parkinson’s diagnosis in a heartfelt letter posted on Instagram.
Dear Friends,
Sharing difficult news is never easy, but here goes. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. There are numerous reasons I’ve kept the news private until now, which I’ll tell you about at some point, but for now, ‘ll simply say that was what I needed. Even now, feel vulnerable putting myself and my Parkinson’s out here, but it’s also freeing. It’s time. It’s what my heart wants. I’m hoping maybe I can bring a little bit of awareness to a disease with a secret life.
Every six minutes, someone in the U.S. will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The day I was diagnosed, I was 3 months and 47 pages away from completing my novel, The Book of Longings. As I left the exam room at Duke after receiving the news, I paused on the threshold, my heart pounding, my eyes welling, and realized I was about to step into a whole new world. Parkinson’s is a life-changing experience, a journey, a new way of being in the world.
When I sit in the waiting room of my neurologist at Duke, I’m deeply moved as I look around at the people living with Parkinson’s. The gentleman with the shuffling feet.
The lady with her sweater buttoned up wrong. We exchange small glances of recognition, a brief smile, and l always think, these are my people. “Such understated power is here, in these tottering dancers who exert stupendous effort on tasks most view as insignificant,” wrote poet, Robin Morgan, herself a person with Parkinson’s.
Living with a neurodegenerative disease that has no cure (yet is hard. I often falter. At times I give in to fear of what my future might be. But living with Parkinson’s also brings awareness and awakening. I told my husband l had a feeling Parkinson’s would become my greatest teacher. I’m not fond of this teacher, but my prediction is proving true. I’m learning new things about acceptance, and joy, and the simplicity of being. I’m learning that life is bearable only through love and gratitude.
Reflecting on his life with Parkinson’s, Michael J. Fox said, “Gratitude makes optimism sustainable.” Just this week, I finished writing a non-fiction book titled Writing, Creativity, and Soul, which I’m excited about bringing into the world, and I’m already dreaming and planning the next book. I’m optimistic I will go on writing even as my fingers tremor and totter across the keyboard.
I know this is my first post in a long time, but ll do my best to stay in touch. I am so grateful for all of you and for the support you give me. You are my people, too.
With love, Sue
Parkinson’s Awareness Month
On the eve of Parkinson’s Awareness Month in 2026, Adventures By the Book gathered together 20 bestselling women authors for a virtual event to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s in Sue’s honor. Watch Sue’s video message that was played during the event.
Sue advocates for Parkinson’s awareness whenever she’s able. You can read the deeply personal interview she did with PMD Alliance about her journey with Parkinson’s, “Creativity Recreates Us.”
READ
Writing Creativity and Soul Debuts as National Bestseller
Sue Monk Kidd’s latest book, Writing Creativity and Soul, was published by Knopf on October 21, 2025 and became in instant national bestseller. It was also simultaneously released in the United Kingdom by Cannongate.
In a starred review, Kirkus calls ‘Writing Creativity and Soul’, “A gorgeous memoir of the creative life, designed to bring out the writer’s voice in all of us.”
From Knopf:
Equal parts memoir, guidebook, and spiritual quest, Writing Creativity and Soul is a pilgrimage and a touchstone, a journey into the transformational force of the imagination and the creative genius that lies in the unconscious.
For more see: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/793710/writing-creativity-and-soul-by-sue-monk-kidd/
Sue Monk Kidd announces new book, Writing Creativity and Soul
Sue Monk Kidd’s latest book, Writing Creativity and Soul will be released on October 21, 2025.
From publisher, Knopf:
In Writing Creativity and Soul, Sue Monk Kidd will pull from her own life and the lives of other writers—Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, and many others—to provide a map for anyone who has ever felt lost as a writer. At the heart of this book is the unwavering belief that writing is a spiritual act, one that draws inspiration from the soul, that wellspring of creativity between imagination and feeling. Once you tap into that part of yourself, said Maya Angelou, there are only three more things you need as a writer: something to say, the ability to say it, and, perhaps most difficult of all, the courage to say it.
Equal parts memoir, guidebook, and spiritual quest, Writing Creativity and Soul is a pilgrimage and a touchstone, a journey into the transformational force of the imagination and the creative genius that lies in the unconscious.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/793710/writing-creativity-and-soul-by-sue-monk-kidd/
The Book of Longings Optioned for TV Series
Story House Productions (Germany), producers of the mega hit ‘Sisi’, has optioned Sue Monk Kidd’s best selling novel, The Book of Longings, to be developed into an English language 6 part series.
From Variety:
Andreas Gutzeit, co-founder of Story House Pictures, the international studio of the Bavaria Film Group, and producer and showrunner on “Sisi,” will serve as showrunner leading an international writers room.
Now in development, The Book of Longings is set in 20 A.D. in Galilee, an official Roman province for the last 25 years: Ana is the daughter of a high-ranking Jewish scribe at the court of the Rome-appointed Herod Antipas, her father’s profession and influence of her aunt instilling in her a deep love of words and a daring spirit. Refusing marriage arranged by her father to an old landowner, she incurs the wrath of Herod, but is saved by an enigmatic stranger. They form an instant connection unlike anything the young woman has ever known. His name is Jesus of Nazareth.
“This is a story where two people realize what is wrong, what is right, how love can save people and that’s the heart of it. And they’ve experienced exactly that,” Gutzeit concluded.
To read the Variety article:
The Queen’s Reading Room Selects The Secret Life of Bees
The Queen’s Reading Room has chosen The Secret Life of Bees as part of its latest season of book recommendations. Her Majesty Queen Camilla, an avid reader and supporter of the literary arts, began the Queens Reading Room in 2021 and selects books that “have been chosen for their educative, literary or historic merit and have been rigorously judged by the charity’s board of trustees.”
“I am honored and beyond grateful that The Secret Life of Bees has been selected by Her Majesty Queen Camilla for Season 11 of The Queen’s Reading Room.”
-Sue Monk Kidd
Released in 2001, ‘Bees’ spent over 2 years on the NYT best seller list, sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, has been translated into 36 languages, and developed into an award winning movie and musical.
‘Behind the scenes’ glimpses of The Secret Life of Bees, along with video clips from an interview with Sue as part of the release of the new Queens Reading Room recommendations will be shared on Instagram @thequeensreadingroom and the web at https://royalreadingroom.uk.
TCU Publishes Book of Literary Criticism on the Fiction of Sue Monk Kidd
From Deborah J. Kuhlmann and TCU Press comes a new book of critical essays on the literary works of New York Times bestselling author, Sue Monk Kidd. TCU Press writes:
“For avid readers as well as academics, Sue Monk Kidd: A Collection of Critical Essays offers seven analytic studies of several of Kidd’s novels, including The Invention of Wings, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Book of Longings, plus the film version of The Secret Life of Bees, to bring expanded perspectives to her work… Much like other notable Southern authors before her, namely William Faulkner, Kate Chopin, Tennessee Williams, Alice Walker, Carson McCullers, Flannery O’Connor, Zora Neale Hurston, and Harper Lee, Kidd’s vision is more tragedy than morality play or melodrama, closer to Realism but not without Romanticism. These essays reveal how oppression, abuse, abandonment, injustice, and other tragedies find their way into Kidd’s novels.”
Major Buzz as The Secret Life of Bees Musical Opens in London
The musical production of Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees opened April 8, 2023 at the Almeida Theatre in London to excellent reviews. The musical is a new reprise of its successful run Off Broadway in New York in 2019. The creative team includes Tony award winning composer Duncan Sheik, Tony nominated lyricist Susan Birkenhead, Pulitzer prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, director Whitney White, and a new cast.
★★★★ “Deserves to generate a real buzz”
@Telegraph
★★★★ “The vocals soar time and again”
@TheTimes
★★★★ “A joyful, inclusive crowd-pleaser”
@Independent
★★★★ “Performances of real star quality”
@WhatsOnStage
★★★★ “A vibrant new musical”
@theipaper
The musical runs through May 27, 2023.
For tickets and info:
https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/the-secret-life-of-bees/
Sue Monk Kidd Inducted into Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
On September 8, 2022 Sue Monk Kidd, a native of Sylvester, Georgia, was inducted into The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony was held at The University of Georgia Speci
al Collections Library where Sue spoke about her work over the last 44 years. She joins other honorees like Alice Walker, Margaret Mitchell, Pat Conroy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Flannery O’Connor, among many others.
The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honors Georgia writers and their excellent literary legacy.
To see Sue accept the award and hear her speak on her writing career, please see the link below.
Good Morning America Buzz Pick – The Secret Life of Bees turns 20
On Friday January 28th, Good Morning America celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Secret Life of Bees by naming it their Buzz Pick book of the week. Twenty years ago Good Morning America also named it to their ‘Read This’ book club.
Originally released in 2002, ‘Bees’ has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, been translated in to 36 languages, and spent over two and half years on The New York Times’ Best Seller list. In 2008 it became a major motion picture starring Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo and Paul Bettany, winning The People’s Choice Award for Best Picture. In 2019 it debuted Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theatre.
Teaching and Reading Group Guides for The Secret Life of Bees can be found here:
https://suemonkkidd.com/books/the-secret-life-of-bees/
The Book of Longings in Paperback
Sue Monk Kidd’s fourth novel, The Book of Longings, was published in paperback on March 23, 2021. Released in 2020 to widespread critical and reader acclaim, it immediately landed at the top of the bestseller lists, reaching #5 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction list, #1 on the IndieBound bestseller list, and #2 on the Associated Press bestseller List. The novel was a Book-of-the-Month Selection, Heather’s Pick (Indigo Books) in Canada, and Australian Women’s Day Great Read Pick. It has been translated into 17 languages thus far.
A virtual book tour promoting the paperback release starts March 24. A full list of events can be found at https://suemonkkidd.com/events/.
