Trimble Times

When I went out and bought the Help, it was purely on recommendations.  I had no idea what it was about, nor did I want to know.  It's fun to read a book without knowing what it's about and having the book come alive.  I LOVED this book.  Help refers to the black maids who worked for white families in the 1960's. The characters and the story were fantastic.  I think it's interesting how much of a necessity it was back then to have a maid whereas now it's more of a luxury.  I didn't realize how much the maids were also nannies.  Not only did they clean their houses, they raised the white children.  It made me sad to hear the stories of white parents who would do next to nothing for their children--the maids were basically their moms.   It was nice to learn that while there were white families who treated their maids very poorly, there were also many who had great relationships with them and treated them very well.   It is a work of fiction, but the author grew up in Jackson, Mississippi in the heat of it all and was "raised" by her maid.  She tells her story at the end of the book.  It's amazing to me how far we have come in 50 years. I'm sure if we would've told them who would be our president today, they would've said that's impossible.

My favorite quote from the book was directed to women..."We are just two people.  Not that much separates us.  Not nearly as much as I thought."  How true even today for all of us....