Side Dish #5: The Help

                                   My cousin passed along the amazing book called The Help. It was one of those books that I could not put down...one of those books that makes me realize why I don't read more--my house does not get clean until I finish the book! So there I was, Alex siting next to me playing, and I am trying to read as much as I can before he starts grabbing for the book again.
Many people are reading it now because the movie just came out, and while I would like to see it sometime, the author does a wonderful job of painting the world of the maids and their employers that I could picture it so well in my head. You really feel a whole range of emotions reading it, which also makes it so wonderful, you will laugh, cringe, cry, and when the book is over, let out a long sigh and sit there not sure what to do next. What I thought was most interesting was the author's note at the end. She had "Help" growing up, and while the book is not really based on her situation completely, it made me realize how not very distant this history was, and how many people might have similar stories to tell.
So go find the book and read it, but carve out about 2 days in which all you will do it read and not accomplish anything else!