Stephanie Land

Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. "My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter." While the gap between upper middle-class Americans and the working poor widens, grueling low-wage domestic and service work--primarily done by women--fuels the economic success of the wealthy. Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, pulling long hours while struggling as a single mom to keep a roof over her daughter's head. In Maid, she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today's inequitable society. While she worked hard to scratch her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labor jobs, higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told. The stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Written in honest, heart-rending prose and with great insight, Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes. With this book, she gives voice to the "servant" worker, those who fight daily to scramble and scrape by for their own lives and the lives of their children.

Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive

Maid

Loved this series on netflix a while ago and decided it has been long enough that I could now listen to the book! Great and powerful story! Deff recommend to anyone. 

🌞Laur🌞

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor. Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path. Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

This is an important memoir on the struggles of poverty and a beautiful glance into motherhood. This book provides a deep look into what poverty is and its tumultuous consequences. It is a very compelling and honest story. 

I decided to read this because I enjoyed the Netflix adaptation. I will say that the show did a better job at letting the consumer emotionally invest in Land's character and story. However, I enjoyed reading about all of the other and different details the show left out. 

Jillian Roberts

This is an important memoir on the struggles of poverty and a beautiful glance into motherhood. This book provides a deep look into what poverty is and its tumultuous consequences. It is a very compelling and honest story. 

I decided to read this because I enjoyed the Netflix adaptation. I will say that the show did a better job at letting the consumer emotionally invest in Land's character and story. However, I enjoyed reading about all of the other and different details the show left out. 

3.75 stars

            At some point I was scrolling through the streaming services Hubs and I subscribe to, mindlessly searching for something to watch, and I came across a series that shared a name with this book.  Intrigued by the premise, I decided to give it a shot…and binged the whole season that day.  It certainly wasn’t the best how I had ever watched, but the storyline spoke to me, and I wanted to see if this poor girl managed to climb her way out of the pit of poverty.  I had no idea, at the time, that it was based on a book. 

            Fast-forward to a random morning in early November 2023.  I was watching Good Morning America, like I do every weekday, and this particular episode of GMA was their Book Club selection day.  The GMA books are always on my TBR list, so I took the time to write it down.  That month’s selection was a book called 

, written by somebody named Stephanie Land.  During that episode of GMA, I discovered that 

 is the follow-up to her first book called 

, and that’s how I found out the show I watched called 

 was based on a book.  I was pretty mad that I somehow watched the non-print before I read the print, but I was willing to overlook that mistake (on my part). 

            The book follows Stephanie Land’s journey as a single mom, out of a volatile and abusive relationship.  Land has to rely on an abundance of financial assistance from state and federal agencies, which is a job all by itself making it to all the appointments and classes required to get and keep those funds.  Somehow, she also is required to hold a job, despite the ridiculous number of hours she has to spend each work going to the required classes and appointments (these are things the general public isn’t aware of).  She finds a job working as a maid, and while it’s not the best paying or most fulfilling thing she’ll ever do with her life, at the time it was exactly what she needed. 

            Land’s story is certainly not the norm, most single moms living in abject poverty don’t turn into bestselling authors.  However, this book does give poverty a face, a personality.  There are those who look down on people like Stephanie Land with the belief they just need to get a job, maybe get two jobs if you’re still broke, stop living off the backs of taxpayers.  What they don’t see is how difficult it is to work more, because then you’re in need of more childcare that is too expensive to afford.  The cost of childcare negates the benefits of having a job for many women, and finding odd-hour childcare is even more difficult and expensive.  Sure there’s assistance for women like Land, but there are requirements like having to take and entire day off for a single appointment and having to take effective parenting classes.  These women work hourly jobs, and those days off mean they lose a tiny, precious amount of money they can’t afford to lose.  Poor women work harder than anybody gives them credit for, yet they are also among the most negatively viewed people in our society. 

            I loved everything about this book.  Land’s story hit me on a personal level.  I connect to books emotionally, and this one hit me in the feels. 

Kristen Claiborn

            At some point I was scrolling through the streaming services Hubs and I subscribe to, mindlessly searching for something to watch, and I came across a series that shared a name with this book.  Intrigued by the premise, I decided to give it a shot…and binged the whole season that day.  It certainly wasn’t the best how I had ever watched, but the storyline spoke to me, and I wanted to see if this poor girl managed to climb her way out of the pit of poverty.  I had no idea, at the time, that it was based on a book. 

            Fast-forward to a random morning in early November 2023.  I was watching Good Morning America, like I do every weekday, and this particular episode of GMA was their Book Club selection day.  The GMA books are always on my TBR list, so I took the time to write it down.  That month’s selection was a book called Class, written by somebody named Stephanie Land.  During that episode of GMA, I discovered that Class is the follow-up to her first book called Maid, and that’s how I found out the show I watched called Maid was based on a book.  I was pretty mad that I somehow watched the non-print before I read the print, but I was willing to overlook that mistake (on my part). 

            The book follows Stephanie Land’s journey as a single mom, out of a volatile and abusive relationship.  Land has to rely on an abundance of financial assistance from state and federal agencies, which is a job all by itself making it to all the appointments and classes required to get and keep those funds.  Somehow, she also is required to hold a job, despite the ridiculous number of hours she has to spend each work going to the required classes and appointments (these are things the general public isn’t aware of).  She finds a job working as a maid, and while it’s not the best paying or most fulfilling thing she’ll ever do with her life, at the time it was exactly what she needed. 

            Land’s story is certainly not the norm, most single moms living in abject poverty don’t turn into bestselling authors.  However, this book does give poverty a face, a personality.  There are those who look down on people like Stephanie Land with the belief they just need to get a job, maybe get two jobs if you’re still broke, stop living off the backs of taxpayers.  What they don’t see is how difficult it is to work more, because then you’re in need of more childcare that is too expensive to afford.  The cost of childcare negates the benefits of having a job for many women, and finding odd-hour childcare is even more difficult and expensive.  Sure there’s assistance for women like Land, but there are requirements like having to take and entire day off for a single appointment and having to take effective parenting classes.  These women work hourly jobs, and those days off mean they lose a tiny, precious amount of money they can’t afford to lose.  Poor women work harder than anybody gives them credit for, yet they are also among the most negatively viewed people in our society. 

            I loved everything about this book.  Land’s story hit me on a personal level.  I connect to books emotionally, and this one hit me in the feels. 

esperanza 

I don’t understand how many of these reviews claim Land to be “whining” throughout the book. I saw it as anything but. It’s a memoir; she tells her story. Simple as that. She lays the facts about what happened to her and how (yes, even acknowledging the fact she did grow up in a middle-class environment until it was ripped out from under her) she struggled to raise her daughter and keep the income as stable as she could. It surprises me, really, because it once again shows how disconnected society is on views of poor people. Land explains this in her book: poor people have this outside pressure to be perfect because if not, they’re labeled as “lazy” and whatnot. Many of the reviewers focused on the fact she splurged when she finally had money (which, what? After all you read through you’re upset Land finally treated herself? I.e. the idea that poor people can’t have nice things), or questioning her decisions on how to raise her daughter (I.e. “why did you even have her?”) instead of reflecting on how, a 28 year old had her reality stripped in a matter of months!! I don’t think I’ve ever written this long of a review, but it upset me on reading a few others. Yes, I do agree, I wanted to read a bit more about the grueling process of being a maid. (What other clients did you have?). But I understood: this is Land’s story, not a nonfiction 500 page book about poverty.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND INSPIRATION FOR THE UPCOMING NETFLIX SERIES "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.

Helene Utterback

This was a perspective on poverty that gave me many flashbacks to my own childhood. My mother and father were both disabled at too young an age and without the "welfare" system I wouldn't have survived. But my parents had to fight for all of it, from the money to pay our gas bill to navagating the food pantries in town. Stephanie Land shows us how the "welfare" system can collapse completely for someone trying to get out.

Iris

One of the most powerful and emotional nonfictions I’ve ever read— Stephanie’s love for Mia shines through every page. Also, can we start being nicer to poor and working class people? Everyone deserves a happy life. 

Lauren Attaway

It took me almost a year, on and off to read this book. I struggled with the heaviness of this book, but had to keep coming back to it, as it is so well-written and interesting.

BARACK OBAMA'S SUMMER READING PICK, 2019. BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK. Educated meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid. A beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in the western world. Includes a foreword by international bestelling author Barbara Ehrenreich. 'My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter.' As a struggling single mum, determined to keep a roof over her daughter's head, Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, working long hours in order to provide for her small family. In Maid, she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today's inequitable society. As she worked hard to climb her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labour jobs as a cleaner whilst also juggling higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told. The stories of the overworked and underpaid. Written in honest, heart-rending prose and with great insight, Maid explores the underbelly of the upper-middle classes and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. 'I'd become a nameless ghost,' Stephanie writes. With this book, she gives voice to the 'servant' worker, those who fight daily to scramble and scrape by for their own lives and the lives of their children.

Simran Kalkat

I liked the book overall, but not sure how strongly I would recommend it. I think it's a worthwhile story to engage with, but I wasn't a huge fan of how the author crafted the story. The writing itself was good. I liked how she was able to speak about her experiences cleaning houses, the relationships she formed with clients, and how she spoke overall about the dignity of work but considering what the trajectory of the story was, I think the book could have been written slightly differently.

Katie

Stephanie Land wrote this book as a memoir of her time working as a maid, doing backbreaking work for minimal pay while trying to take care of her daughter. I liked it well enough, but it didn't have a huge emotional impact on me like some other memoirs have (The Glass Castle being a prime example). It felt like there were gaps, and I wanted to know what Land was leaving out. Some of my favorite parts were when she talked about the system feeling like it's designed to keep people in poverty rather than help get them out. It's impossible to save money, and if someone in a bad situation who is receiving government assistance starts making more, their aid gets cut off before they're truly able to support themselves. I wish this had been explored more, but that is also more of a topic that belongs in news articles rather than a personal memoir. I do think this is worth the read if you are interested in Stephanie's story.

Alia Lasquete

Sarah Bryan 

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Beth Seaton

"Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, pulling long hours while struggling as a single mom to keep a roof over her daughter's head. In Maid, she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today's inequitable society. While she worked hard to scratch her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labor jobs, higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. The stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Written in honest, heart-rending prose and with great insight, Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them."--Provided by publisher.

Maid Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive

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