Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive
Ratings24
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings24
Average rating3.8
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND INSPIRATION FOR THE NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES, HAILED BY ROLLING STONE AS "A GREAT ONE." "A single mother's personal, unflinching look at America's class divide, a description of the tightrope many families walk just to get by, and a reminder of the dignity of all work." -PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, Obama's Summer Reading List At 28, Stephanie Land's dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer quickly dissolved when a summer fling turned into an unplanned pregnancy. Before long, she found herself a single mother, scraping by as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Maid is an emotionally raw, masterful account of Stephanie's years spent in service to upper middle class America as a "nameless ghost" who quietly shared in her clients' triumphs, tragedies, and deepest secrets. Driven to carve out a better life for her family, she cleaned by day and took online classes by night, writing relentlessly as she worked toward earning a college degree. She wrote of the true stories that weren't being told: of living on food stamps and WIC coupons, of government programs that barely provided housing, of aloof government employees who shamed her for receiving what little assistance she did. Above all else, she wrote about pursuing the myth of the American Dream from the poverty line, all the while slashing through deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not hers alone. It is an inspiring testament to the courage, determination, and ultimate strength of the human spirit.
Reviews with the most likes.
Really powerful memoir about a single mom just trying to survive and take care of her little one the best she can. I read a lot of pretty judgmental reviews of this book, people criticizing the author's various decisions, thinking she should have spent money differently or worked harder etc. But I was near tears for much of the book as I saw a woman in survival mode, without any support systems from family/friends, gathering the strength and initiative to care for her child. I resonated with the loneliness she describes and the lack of capacity to do anything more than simply survive another day. No judgment from me.
Well done. I enjoyed hearing her journey. This book took me on an emotional roller coaster.
my actual opinions of this book have been summarized in a far more clear and concise way by other reviewers than I could, so go read other reviews if you like that
on a more personal note, I spent several of my childhood summers visiting my grandparents in Skagit County, taking the ferry to Whidby Island, and eating at my favorite restaurant in Fairhaven... so reading this feels like getting shot in the heart with nostalgia
Stephanie Land shares her experiences living below the poverty line, with a young child, cleaning houses. As you might expect, it's a grim life, living paycheck to paycheck, with all the niceties that many of us take for granted.
I'm sure I am going to sound hard-hearted but there were many things about this story that bothered me. I was sad Land didn't focus on the things she did have during her short time in poverty. She received child support. She received free college tuition. She received food stamps. She received rent and child care subsidies. She had a job. She was able to attend college. I was also sad that Land wasn't honest with herself about mistakes she made, impulsive decisions that had heavy consequences. I also was appalled at how she looked through the possessions of people in the homes she was cleaning. It frustrated me that every time she came into a bit of money she quickly spent it on superfluous things. I felt especially annoyed by that sense of entitlement she seemed to have; when did we get to the place in the world that we feel like others are duty-bound to help us? On the other hand, I did like the place in the story where she turned from this sort of thinking, when she cleaned for the family that exuded love, when she realized that that is the most important thing that she and her daughter had, when she began to move toward the realization of her dreams.
