Sue Monk Kidd

“It’s hard to put this book down for little things like sleeping and eating.”
—Elle Magazine

“Kidd’s writing is so smart and sharp, she gives new life to old midlife crises, and she draws connections from the feminine to the divine to the erotic that a lesser writer wouldn’t see, and might not have the guts to follow.”
—Time Magazine

“Compelling reading….The writing is soulful in its probing of the human heart and family secrets.”
—The San Francisco Chronicle

“If The Secret Life of Bees was a girl’s coming-of-age novel, The Mermaid Chair is a woman’s coming-of-middle-age novel…The prose thrilled me… Magnificent.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer

“The pages all but turn themselves.”
—Parade 

“Beguiling… Reconciling the spiritual with the human, The Mermaid Chair is a captivating metaphorical and sensual journey into one woman’s soul.”
—Book Page Magazine  

“Book clubs, start your engines… Kidd returns to her Southern roots to set a multifaceted mystery amid the salt marshes of a fictional South Carolina barrier island. Dripping with vivid images, The Mermaid Chair is a tapestry strengthened by bonds between women that bridge pain and loss… Beautiful writing.”
—USA Today  

“Kidd grabs you from the first sentence… A good read.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Richly rewarding.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Kidd’s second offering is just as gracefully written as her first and possesses an equally compelling story.”
—ALA Booklist

“A multidimensional pleasure… Kidd writes at a deeper emotional level than she did in the fabulously popular Bees. Her characters are more tormented, more complex… Yet it can be savored strictly on the basis of Kidd’s beautiful use of language.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“The steady pulse of Kidd’s writing pushes this narrative from heart-throbber to soul-searcher.”
—Boston Herald

“Kidd draws on her extensive knowledge of theology and mythology in this insightful book about the passions and desires of body and soul… Richly rewarding.”
—Orlando Sentinel

“In one rich and satisfying gush… Jessie reevaluates just about every aspect of her life: her husband, her lover, her mother, her artwork, the death of her father decades ago, and most of all herself… Rewarding.”
—Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“An illuminating investigation of midlife malaise…The Mermaid Chair honors those who conjure up the courage to rediscover and recommit to their life passions.”
—The Seattle Times

“It takes a rare and mysterious novel to speak to our souls in so many ways that we return to the book again and again for refreshment and renewal. Sue Monk Kidd created that kind of magic in The Secret Life of Bees, and her new novel promises to have the same effect.”
—Spirituality and Health

“Kidd’s greatest strength as a writer is her sensuous, evocative prose.”
—Pittsburgh Post Gazette 

“The Mermaid Chair exceeds Kidd’s first novel both in scope and in depth… and proves her versatility as a storyteller, her devotion to craft and a heart for the genuine character.”
—The Post & Courier, Charleston

“Kidd’s sparkling imagery in The Mermaid Chair surpasses her efforts in “Bees” and helps morph a simple story into something approaching myth.”
—Santa Cruz Sentinel

“It’s the sensitively plotted emotional journey that makes this another inevitable bestseller.”
—Time Out London

“This lush follow-up finds Kidd asking even bigger questions with the story of a woman whose life and marriage have grown increasingly stale.”
—Breathe Magazine