Bee Summers

The spring she is eleven years old, Melissa Singer's mother walks out of the house and never returns. That summer, her father, a migratory beekeeper, takes her along with him as he delivers his hives. The trip, and the people she meets, change her life. Over the years that follow, Melissa tries to unlock the mystery of her mother's disappearance and struggles to come to terms with her loss.

"... Bee Summers is a carefully wrought portrayal of the way we carry trauma with us through life" Brenda Schmidt, Quill and Quire.

"In Bee Summers, Melanie Dugan sensitively recreates the imposed innocence of childhood, tracking the precocious, resilient Lissy through abandonment and rejection into clear-eyed maturity. This is a coming-of-age novel that buzzes with intelligence and a deep understanding of human nature," Merilyn Simonds, author of The Convict Lover.

 UpStart Press: ISBN: 978-0-9880627-5-7