The Help

I remember over a year ago meeting family in Alcester. It is always a great time to see Angie and Robbie with all of their families, we don't get together nearly enough. I was lucky enough to sit near Angie, and she asked if we had read anything good recently. She then proceeded to mention a book titled "Help" about some maids and their experiences. Angie said it was really good and we had to read it. I had completely forgotten that part of the conversation, and recently discovering this novel that had been on the bestseller listing had me remembering.

The maids are African American women working in the Sixties when Kennedy was President. The problem was that they were working in Mississippi, during a very unstable time in race relations. The two main characters are on opposite sides of races, and are brought together to do something amazing to bring awareness around the world to what really happens in their workplaces.

I loved this book. It had great characters, and a wonderful story line. I was horrified to learn what was really going on in some of those homes, and I know this was a fiction, it was probably true on some level. We learn about things in history, but it really comes alive when a name and face are given to the people who experience what we read about. This is one book you will need to read.