Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"

I just finished reading "The Help", by Kathryn Stockett this morning and I thought it was absolutely wonderful! Very few books have me crying on one page and cheering on the next. I'm only 41, so I wasn't around in the 60's. I've seen racism up close but never to that extreme degree. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of my favorite books and "The Help" is so similar. It also shows that the south hadn't changed much in the few decades between the stories' timelines. Rampant racism is nothing new, especially in the south. And now that we have a black president you'd think people would be more tolerant, but of course, that's not the case. I can't help but wonder what "Hilly" would think of Obamma. I guess I identify with "Skeeter". Once everybody turned their backs on her she was left on the outside looking in. Trying to keep her head up while inside she was in a turmoil. All she ever wanted to do was write, and the first serious thing she works on after college gets her in trouble. All I ever wanted to do was write, but I never thought anything I wrote was good enough. I have a huge fear of not living up to everyone's expectations of what my writing should be, so I don't show anyone. After reading this book I will not be afraid anymore. I will write and I will send my stuff to the appropriate people and then take a deep breath when it's done. Thank you Kathryn Stockett for writing this book and giving me the courage to just go for it. No one should be afraid to follow their dreams.