Set in Mississippi in the early 1960s, the book tells the story of black women, white women, and the ways their lives interrelate. An unlikely alliance grows up between one privileged young white woman and at first one, then two, black women.

This book has been a popular choice for reading groups since it was published in 2009, so you may have discussed it with a group already. But we hope to invite a rather different response with these notes and, in particular, with the suggestions for prayer.

Points for discussion

1. The book brings in Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech and the killing of civil rights campaigner Medgar Evers. If you have passed your 50th birthday, it is set within your lifetime. Does this shock you? Do you find it credible?

2. There are three narrators – indeed, three heroines – for this book. How far do you think the author has succeeded in making the three voices distinct?

3. What light does the character of Celia, from a “trailer trash” background, throw upon the relationship between the black and the white communities?

4. Central to the book is the theme of courage to speak out in the face of reprisals. Skeeter cannot expect more courage from others than she is prepared to show herself. How does her understanding of the risks the black women are facing develop in the course of the book?

5. Aibileen is known for her gifts in intercessory prayer, and yet all her prayers are written down in the form of a prayer journal. Have you ever tried to use a journal in this way? If not, does this character make you want to try?

6. Have you read the “Author’s Note” at the end of the book? If so, how much does it add to your understanding?

Suggestions for prayer

1. Pray for all who are victims of racism, particularly where it includes violence and bullying. Give thanks for the courage of those who speak out against injustice.

2. Pray for all who have the care of children, whether their own or other people’s.

3. Pray for all who are imprisoned by prejudice and narrow-mindedness, and for the people they harm by their lack of self-awareness.

4. Pray for social justice to prevail, and for help in discerning the part that each of us may be called to play in that.