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One of my co-workers, a guy who isn¡¯t much of a reader, borrowed The Help from the library based on his English professor¡¯s recommendation. The guy just couldn¡¯t stop talking about the story, so I decided to borrow the audio book. It¡¯s not very often I get to discuss books with people in real life and I wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity slip by. Audio books are good for me. I was so engrossed in the story and characters that I drove the speed limit on the highway and took the scenic route while running errands. Sometimes I went out at lunch and needlessly drove in circles, or sat in the parking lot at work, waiting for a good place to stop.

It is 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi. Twenty-two year-old Eugenia ¡°Skeeter¡± Phelan has returned home after graduating college to find that Constantine, her family¡¯s maid and the woman who raised her, has mysteriously disappeared. Aibileen is a black maid in her 50¡¯s who works for the Leefolt family and cares deeply for their daughter, Mae Mobley. She is still grieving for her young son, who died in a workplace accident. Minny is Aibileen¡¯s closest friend and a wonderful cook, but her mouth keeps getting her into trouble and no one wants to hire her, until Aibileen helps secure her a position with Celia Foote, a young woman who is new in town and unaware of Minny¡¯s reputation.

The story jumps back and forth between the three characters, all of them providing their version of life in the South, the dinner parties, the fund-raising events, the social and racial boundaries, family relationships, friendships, working relationships, poverty, hardship, violence, and fear. Skeeter¡¯s mother wants her to find a nice man and get married, but she¡¯s more interested in changing the world. Her plans to anonymously compile a candid collection of stories about the maids¡¯ jobs and the people they work for will risk her social standing in town, her friendships, and the lives of the maids who tell their stories.

I loved this story! The characters really came alive for me, and the author did a good job acknowledging actual historical events which lent richness and authenticity to the story. I laughed and cried, felt despair and hope. This is an important story that is a painful reminder of past cruelty and injustice. It shows how far we have progressed and how much more we still have to accomplish.