The answer

A story of hope. A milestone in literature. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan has finished college and is eager to become a writer. After landing a job as a columnist for the local newspaper, she has a brilliant but dangerous idea: to write a book in which Black maids recount their relationships with white employers in Mississippi in the 1960s. Despite fearing possible retaliation, she enlists the help of Aibeleen, the maid who raised 17 white children, and Minny, who, not taking any offense, has been unemployed several times after arguing with her employers. Taking advantage of the emergence of the first civil rights demonstrations, Skeeter hopes her book will shock prejudiced white people and bring pride and hope to the Black community of Jackson County, where the story takes place. At the same time, with the book's possible publication, she hopes to break down her own barriers and realize her lifelong dream.