The real masterwork that Sue Hubbell has created is her life, David Quammen wrote in the New York Times. This book is, like its author, a unique achievement. Weaving a vivid portrait of her own life and her bees lives through the seasons, Hubbell writes about bees to be sure, but also about other things: the important difference between loneliness and solitude . . . the accommodating of oneself to nature (Philadelphia Inquirer).