A Taste for More

By 1961, Margo Dupree has had enough of life in Mississippi. Even though the Civil Rights Act was recently signed, changes in the attitudes toward Black people in her hometown have yet to shift, and Margo, who is Black, has limited job opportunities. With a dissolute husband and a child to support, Margo leaves baby Lana with her mother and heads to Wisconsin, as did many Black people from the South during the Great Migration. Though she finds a position as a cook in a café there, Margo continues to face obstacles to her plans. Years later, Lana finally comes to live with her. A sense of guilt influences Margo’s parenting decisions as an overindulged Lana causes rifts in Margo’s relationships with their family and friends. Margo’s realization of her naiveté and misguided trust in others, especially with her deceptive daughter, comes to a boil as Margo is again faced with life-changing decisions for herself and Lana.