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Maid
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive | 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.
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review
LeaKell
Pickpick

A thought provoking book that provides a glimpse into the life of a mom and how she survives. We need more books just like this.

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dominosgirlfriend18
Pickpick

This is the first book I read of 2024 & shortly after I started the Netflix series because I couldn‘t get this book out of my head. This is an incredible, raw tale of a mother who never gave up. A real look of poverty in America. I recommend this book 100%!!

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Goleemn
Pickpick

What a great nonfiction book! It‘s an unflinching look at what it is to be a poor, single mother in America today. Land somehow keeps it together when most would have crashed and burned. Her love for her daughter shines. The book is nothing like the tv series. This is a book everyone should read! It will open your eyes.

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squishmallowbb
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Pickpick

I read this after watching the Netflix show. I couldn't put it down, and finished it in a couple of days. All I can say is this is a must read!

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Nikki_E
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Rereading (well listening) to the tagged and making a quick pita bread pizza for dinner.

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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

I‘ve been wanting to read this one for a long time, and the new Netflix adaptation spurred me to jump on it before I watched.

Extremely well written memoir by a struggling single mom. I‘m so glad she was able to write this and I hope she‘ll write more books. I will read them!

I‘ve watched the first two episodes of the series and they changed a ton of stuff! Wonder how the author feels about that.

tpixie If I get time this month I‘m going to need a memoir or non-fiction book to read for Friends With fiction book challenge. I might read this!!! I think an author has to just come to terms that they got paid for the adaptation, that it‘s a completely different thing than their book, and hope that it being on Netflix encourages more people to read it. I think it be very hard though. 2y
TheBookHippie If you follow her on IG she explains her thoughts and sometimes will show you differences. I‘ve followed her a long time ( from her blogging days) she‘s had to change a bit but she‘s pretty open. As far as I know you can still go back and read her blogs. 2y
CoffeeNBooks I listened to the audio of this a few years ago- it was a really powerful and eye-opening book. 2y
Soubhiville @TheBookHippie thanks, I‘ll look her up on there. 😊 2y
97 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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LibrarianBanana
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Pickpick

I'm so glad I watched the show first and then read the book, because it allowed me to be amazed at how much richer the story is through the author's own words. I finished it in just 2 days.

"I‘d sunk to a new low, but I wouldn‘t let it sink."

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Dalaine
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Pickpick

I came to this book after watching, and loving, the series in Netflix. When I first started reading, I was taken aback by how different Land's life story was to the life depicted in the series. It started feeling like the book and the series followed two different narratives.
I think the book is a lot more real than the series. I read that people, specifically mothers, felt that the Stephanie in the series was almost too good of a mom. (cont)

Dalaine (cont) They portrayed her as this perfect, almost superhero, mom to Mia. The book shows that Land made many mistakes with Mia.
The book can feel a bit repetitive at times and I don't know a great deal about the bureaucracy that exists in the USA, but I think it does a good job at explaining poverty and the challenges facing those trapped in broken cycles.
2y
6 likes1 comment
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candority
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Mehso-so

It is hard to review Maid because on one hand I respect Stephanie Land for telling her story, but on the other hand, I just didn‘t love the book. 3⭐️

I did watch the Netflix adaptation though, which I enjoyed more than the book. The adaptation is only very loosely inspired by the book – a lot was changed to make it a more TV-friendly story.

Suet624 I panned the book but loved the series. 2y
candority @Suet624 Yeah, I‘m teetering on the edge of so-so and pan! The series was so much better, but I was shocked at first by how much they changed. 2y
Amandajoy I felt the same. I respected what she did, but there were times in the book she came off as very entitled. 2y
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kspenmoll I heard her in person when her book first came out bring interviewed by a journalist- that impacted how I viewed her book. Not a pan for me. Not sure I want to see TV series; maybe seeing her in person makes her life real to me- it also was a small venue; Mark Twain House in Hartford. (edited) 2y
candority @Amandajoy Definitely! And some of her decisions just made me scratch my head. 2y
candority @kspenmoll I can see how hearing her speak about her experiences in person would be impactful. I think the book could have been refined a bit more - she tries to do so many things in the book, so none of them end up being as powerful as they could have been. And the way the book is written seems to have rubbed a lot of readers the wrong way (at least on Goodreads). I‘ll definitely check out some interviews with her! 2y
83 likes6 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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The first book I thought of pertaining to #gloves 🧤

#WishesandBlessings

Eggs Great pic🧤💛🧤 2y
TheSpineView Good one! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs @TheSpineView thank you!! 🧤💛🧤 2y
Pageturner1 😆 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks i am glad i seen this post. i thought the first word for #wishesandblessings was Cloves. 2y
78 likes5 comments
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Eggs
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks We chose the same one!! I just saw your post! 2y
Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks We are kindred spirits😘😘 2y
58 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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readwithcori
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Pickpick

Another read making it to the top of my recommendation list. An honest, well-written memoir that is eye opening and promotes a need for critical reflection. Now, time to tune into Maid on Netflix!

Teresereading Watching it on Netflix now 2y
readwithcori @Teresereading have you finished it?? What do you think? 2y
Teresereading Enjoyed it but sad at times 2y
20 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Rachel.Rencher
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Pickpick

This is easily one of the most interesting memoirs I've ever read. Stephanie Land really highlighted the challenges and utter bullshit that she went through as a single mom who did everything in her power to escape an abusive relationship and protect her young daughter. It also made me realize what my life could have been if my grandma wasn't around when my mom left my father. I'm very grateful that many of the challenges were hidden from me.

ShelleyBooksie I love reading opinions so different from my own ♡. I could not.connect with this book at all - I found her to be very entitled. 2y
90 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Rachel.Rencher
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I'm just going to have a reading marathon of one until I can watch Taylor Swift on SNL tonight. ❤ Up next: Maid - Stephanie Land.

75 likes2 stack adds
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Caroline2
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Mehso-so

The Netflix series of this is very different and actually much better. I was v poor growing up, my parents both worked two jobs. Some of this is really poignant but other parts she comes across as whiney (esp as she‘s nearly 30) and she makes some bad decisions, like she can‘t afford food but then spends $200 on a diamond ring to prove to herself she‘s worth it?! A lot of this didn‘t sit well with me….

Readswithcoffee I agree about the whining and poor decision making. It made me CRAZY. Also, I felt it lacked introspection as to what led her to be in the situation to begin with, which I find to be a common problem of memoirs in general. 2y
GingerAntics I‘ll be avoiding this book, then. It drives me crazy when people make really stupid decisions like this, since then people make assumptions about all poor people making bad decisions that “make them poor” like it‘s a choice. I wish someone would pay an average poor person who does everything they‘re “supposed to” and is still poor to write a memoir, just once. 2y
KatieB I felt the same way about this book. I definitely wanted more introspection! 2y
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Caroline2 @Readswithcoffee Yes!! I completely agree. 2y
Caroline2 @GingerAntics I totally agree!! She defo fulfils the stereotype. 🙄 2y
Caroline2 @KatieB Yes, there was lots of jealousy of couples and families but no introspection as to why she made her choices. 2y
GingerAntics @Caroline2 🤦🏼‍♀️ 2y
114 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Rachel.Rencher
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My book order came in today. 😍

LeslieO Nice haul!👏👏👏 2y
90 likes1 comment
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Caroline2
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Super excited about my November TBR pile. 😀 Hoping I can get more reading time this month. #novembertbr

squirrelbrain A couple of chunksters there! 😜 2y
Caroline2 @squirrelbrain yep!! 😬 (I‘ve just replied to your email, sorry it‘s taken so long! 🤦‍♀️) 2y
squirrelbrain 😜👍 2y
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BookishTrish
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Mehso-so

A quick but often disjointed read about one white single mother‘s struggles and resilience. She has a fierce love for her child that really shines through.

marleed I had some issues with the MC in the book too. I loved the Netflix series though. I‘m kind of interested to reread the book wondering if the portrayal of Alex from the series would negate my thoughts that influenced the book the first time around. 2y
56 likes1 comment
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rather_be_reading
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Anyone else watching??

Caroline2 Yes and loving it! I‘ve had the book on my tbr shelf for ages. Defo moving it up the pile now. 👍 2y
SomedayAlmost Very real, heartfelt depictions of emotional and financial abuse. So well written and acted. (edited) 2y
SamAnne Yes, want to watch this. 2y
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LibrarianBanana I'm starting it today! 2y
Veebee I have watched a few episodes. What a struggle it is to come out along with a child from an abusive relationship , especially since the system is biased against the woman who is financially not independent. 2y
rather_be_reading @Caroline2 the book is amazing! 2y
rather_be_reading @Veebee yes i hope everyone watches this 2y
Beachbum Loved it!!! Watched it all in 1 day!!! 2y
marleed Yes started tonight. I‘m on episode 7 and I must go to bed :( 2y
58 likes12 comments
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Theressadoriott
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Finally getting back to reading. Diving into this one before watching it on Netflix

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freeatlast1137
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Pickpick

Stephanie outlines the struggles of single parenthood and the will to survive in poverty.

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rachelk
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Pickpick

Even though this is a memoir about the struggles faced by one mom, it‘s hard to read and not think about injustices faced by all working poor. This story makes a good argument for a more robust social safety net. It also serves as reminder to treat all people with kindness and respect. Sometimes the book felt a bit disjointed but Land did a good job of conveying the anxiety, frustration and exhaustion she felt while striving for a better life.

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Wellreadhead
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Pickpick

Just finished this wonderful memoir by Stephanie Land. A memoir that, as far as I‘m concerned, serves as a definitive argument that sometimes, a heavy-handed dose of Marxism is exactly what we need. It‘s hard to imagine a surer sign of this than this book.

britt_brooke Loved this one! 3y
kspenmoll Loved this. When it was launched was able to see & hear her discuss her book with a journalist. Didn‘t I meet two Littens there? @CareBear @Ncostell ?! 3y
CareBear Yes!! 3y
Ncostell Yes @kspenmoll that is where we first met! That was a great event too hearing the author speak of her experience in person. 3y
jeff1000 Hi dear , I hope that you are fine .. You can write to me here .
jeffroland2000@gmail.com
3y
83 likes6 stack adds5 comments
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Court7
Pickpick

Good.

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FelinesAndFelonies
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Pickpick

The book was a good, quick read. As a teenage single-mother, her story hit close to home. I remember the struggle and the exhaustion. I remember that it is always a lurking potential. The book was an effective way to call attention to our social support programs by putting the reader in the shoes of any 'public aid' recipient. Absolutely relatable and a good reminder how much I take for granted.

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
36 likes2 comments
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Apinlibraryland
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Pickpick

Beautifully written account of being poor in America. Highly recommend the audiobook, which the author reads.

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PMMREADS
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to the Netflix adaptation. This book was a story of resilience.

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abookishbutterfly
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Pickpick

For fifteen years, I raised my children on my own while living in abject poverty after escaping an abusive marriage. Because of this, many of the battles and resulting emotions expressed by Stephanie Land in her memoir about being a low income single mom were very relatable. The dehumanizing experiences she relayed especially resonated with me. While the bulk of her story didn‘t mirror my own, I found it easy to empathize with her struggle.

Reviewsbylola Such a powerful story. You and Stephanie are strong, resilient women. 💪🏻 3y
kamoorephoto @abookishbutterfly I came across your post because my DV support group is going to discuss the Netflix series. I left my ex, with my son, about a year and a half ago. Like the author I‘m here in WA (Seattle) and I recognize very well the way she‘s going through the transitional housing, etc after leaving; it‘s what I did as I had nowhere to go. For years I didn‘t think I could leave and start over. But it‘s HARD. #Maid 🙌🏼 2y
abookishbutterfly @kamoorephoto It is so hard. I‘m proud of you for leaving. 2y
78 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Emilymdxn
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Continuing with the same podcast series and documentary on Netflix today, I learned so much from the tagged book about the painful process of applying for different types of public assistance in the US. A very sobering read particularly while waiting for the results of the election

#nfn2020 @Clwojick +20

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Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

This was a really moving account of a single mother getting by on public assistance and working as a cleaner. A meaningful book to be reading during the wait for the outcome of the American election. I agree with some criticism I‘ve seen about how a woman of colour‘s opinion on these issues might be more illuminating for modern America than a white woman, but I loved it all the same.
#nfn2020 @Clwojick +20
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks one more!

Reviewsbylola I loved this book. Stephanie is so resilient! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress! 3y
kspenmoll When this was first published I heard her speak & she was fascinating to listen to. 3y
77 likes3 comments
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TheBookHippie
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New book coming 🤍🤍🤍🤍

Hooked_on_books I‘ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for this! 3y
41 likes2 comments
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tholmz
Mehso-so

Listened to this one and just felt okay about it. I‘m glad there‘s a popular memoir that highlights how difficult all of the systems are that are supposed to help people living below the poverty line, but I also didn‘t super enjoy her story. Couldn‘t help but wonder how different this story would be from a woman of color.

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EadieB
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Day 26 - #3Books #IDNFed

Just could not finished these books!

Freespirit Too many books out there...I now allow myself to stop reading and move on. 4y
EadieB @Freespirit I agree! 4y
OriginalCyn620 I agree too @Freespirit! 👍🏻 4y
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Hazel2019 I couldn‘t get through the hitchhiker‘s guide to the galaxy either...had so many people recommend it. Not for me. 4y
EadieB @Hazel2019 I think it has a lot of British humor which Americans are not keen to! (edited) 4y
ShelleyBooksie I dnf-d Maid as well. Her tone did not set right with me. 4y
EadieB @ShelleyBooksie To me it was a personal pity party which I didn‘t care about! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @EadieB agreed, but I did finish it for a buddy read 🤷🏼‍♀️ 4y
EadieB @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks That‘s an appropriate reason to finish when others are relying on your opinion. 4y
eeclayton @EadieB @Hazel2019 I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who wasn't impressed by The Hitchhiker's Guide! 4y
EadieB @eeclayton It's a hard book to like when the humor is one that you don't understand from the UK. 4y
Suet624 I DNF‘d Maid too. The Netflix series is much better 2y
EadieB @Suet624 I‘ll have to check out the series! 2y
61 likes13 comments
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Jody3
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Pickpick

Very interesting and well-written. I think the book is important to read and understand the many challenges of poverty.

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Nikki_E
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Reached my goal of 75 books read this year. I‘m glad the challenge ended on such a high note.

Buechersuechtling Congratulations 🥳 on reaching your goal. 😄 4y
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Nikki_E
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Currently reading

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tanya1512
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Pickpick

Good read. I mean she‘s not reinventing the wheel or anything it‘s a story heard before. It‘s in the way she tells it. I feel a lot of main parts how she got her Pearl or the ending where not discussed how she got there. To me that would have made the story better more so then the individual homes she cleaned. All and all a good book. After 20 years doing social work books like these show how the system really needs to be fixed.

11 likes1 stack add
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Charityann
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Pickpick

Not as good as some of the other memoirs I‘ve read in the last couple years, but still interesting. 😊📖📚

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Sharpeipup
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Given the state of disarray in my house, this book seems comical.

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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

I have to admire a person who will readily share all her flaws without any apologies. Stephanie Land isn‘t always likeable, but I respect her relentless pursuit in providing for her daughter. I found parts of this book really insightful; equal parts infuriating & empowering. Additionally, I had not considered the “intimacy” between homeowner and housecleaner, a little unsettling. This was my last book for #NonfictionChallenge2020

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Your last book! Great job, go you! Do you have another challenge you are working on next? 4y
Cinfhen Now I need to focus on #ReadingEurope2020 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa some of those countries are gonna be tough 🙄 4y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Cinfhen Good luck! Some of those will be tough! 4y
Reviewsbylola I really enjoyed this one. 4y
85 likes4 comments
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Cinfhen
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I started this audiobook back in February but it wasn‘t holding my attention. I restarted listening today and I‘m already on chapter 5. I‘m having mixed “reactions” to Stephanie but I‘m now engaged in learning more of her story.

Megabooks I couldn‘t stand this book. Big fat bail! 4y
Cinfhen At first I found myself silently judging her @Megabooks but now I‘m at least 6 hours in and I‘m coming around to admiration 🤷🏼‍♀️It‘s better than I initially thought. 4y
alisiakae This was one of my #bookspin books this month (I didn‘t read it) 4y
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Cinfhen Spent most of the day listening @4thhouseontheleft Insightful & engaging. Glad I picked it back up. 4y
MicheleinPhilly @Megabooks I finished but I wish I hadn‘t. 4y
Cinfhen Curious why you hated the book @MicheleinPhilly @Megabooks ??? 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen honestly, I felt she was whiny and lacked common sense, but it‘s been over a year since the last time I picked it up. The majority of us have had jobs we were overqualified for that sucked. Honestly, I have a lot more respect for the lifer techs I worked with that often made less than $12 an hour with no benefits. They got scratched up, bitten, all kinds of stuff and constantly had to be compassionate towards pets and their pet parents. 4y
Megabooks I also knew kennel assistant that worked for $10 an hour 7 months pregnant, chasing and getting jumped on by 70 lb dogs. There are a lot of very hardworking people out there that I have had the pleasure of working with both on the same level (pre-vet school) and as a dr/manager. Idk, I just found her very whiny. 4y
Cinfhen She was whiny!! That‘s true!!!! But I guess I was impressed by her drive, although some of her behavior was definitely questionable @Megabooks (edited) 4y
MicheleinPhilly Her overall sense of entitlement really grated on me. Millions and millions of people wake up every day and do work that they don‘t find fulfilling but they do it in order to take care of themselves and their families. And yes, I judged a lot of the decisions that she made. But overall I just wondered why she was chosen to tell her story. There was nothing in it that offered any great insight IMO. @Megabooks 4y
Megabooks @MicheleinPhilly I agree. I think she may have cast a worse light on low-wage earners than she possibly intended or was helpful. I don‘t mean this towards you Cindy specifically, as there is a lot of stuff idk about you personally, but I think she wrote the book with a certain type of white collar reader in mind because there were parts of the section I read that the people I worked with above would not have related to, or less so than WC readers. 4y
Cinfhen I don‘t think her story was any more special, agreed but she was pretty transparent in calling out her own faults.She didn‘t try to sugarcoat her poor choices or bad behavior. I didn‘t get a sense of entitlement from her although she did make some derogatory comments. It was sad for me to find her family so removed from her life, I‘m not used to that. She had literally no support system and I think that‘s the difference for those who make it👇🏽 4y
Cinfhen And those who don‘t. I don‘t think I‘d want her as a friend and certainly not as my employee but I admire her drive to better her daughter‘s life @MicheleinPhilly @Megabooks 4y
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Nikki_E

“Every single parent teetering on poverty does this. We work, we love, we do. And the stress of it all, the exhaustion, leaves us hollowed. Scraped out. Ghosts of our former selves. That‘s how I felt for those few days after the accident, like I wasn‘t fully connected to the ground when I walked. I knew that at any moment, a breeze could come and blow me away.”
― Stephanie Land, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother‘s Will to Survive

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Floresj
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Pickpick

The timing of this read was interesting. I worked as a hotel maid in college, and easily relate to the physically demanding yet ridiculously low pay of this line of work. In the wake of the coronavirus and it‘s impact on hourly and service workers, it definitely touched on some aspects of the “hidden” population. Child care can be cost prohibitive to working and this book explained through the author‘s life just how hard poor people work.

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IReadThereforeIBlog
Mehso-so

Stephanie Land is from a working class background who, shortly after the birth of her daughter, found herself as a homeless, single mother. In this ultimately unsatisfying memoir she describes working as a cleaner for a middle class oblivious to her problems and is very good at describing how she had to navigate the byzantine US welfare and food stamps system but I never felt that I knew who she was or why she was in this situation.

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Lauren890
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 I had a few issues with this one but overall I enjoyed it. I think it brings up some important issues but there were a couple things that were a little cringe-y. I think she really is a good writer and the audiobook flowed well.

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Jess7
Pickpick

Despite reading a lot of mixed reviews for this one, I ultimately really liked this book. Yes, I agree she didn‘t always make the best decisions and yes, she only partially acknowledges this, but overall I found the book to be interesting and uplifting. I recommend it!

“I had stopped believing Home was a fancy house on a hill. Home was a place that embraced us, a community, a knowing.”

#jpbookreview #thegreeneyedreader #maid #stephanieland

Jess7 Book 11/40 of 2020 4y
Hooked_on_books I thought it was good, too. And I have yet to meet a person, regardless of socioeconomic status, who always makes good choices. 4y
67 likes2 comments
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Jess7
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Starting this one today... I have mixed feelings about it so far! Have any of you read it?

#maid #stephanieland #audiobook

Megabooks I bailed 4y
marleed It was a slow pick for me. 4y
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BlameJennyJane I enjoyed it. Unique story. 4y
Amor4Libros I liked it a lot! 4y
Hooked_on_books I thought it was terrific. And so did Barack Obama, so… 4y
Bookishlie Am currently reading it too. Only like 5 chapters in right now. 4y
Amandajoy I had mixed feelings about it. I think it‘s an important perspective but I also found her to come off as very entitled. There‘s a section about WIC and organic milk that just angered me as a Dietitian, I almost bailed there. 4y
kspenmoll I enjoyed it. I also heard her speak & be interviewed at a book talk & her story was compelling. 4y
KT1432 I wasn't a fan. I was so excited to read it too, because the topic is so important. I think in better hands it would have resonated with me more, but I felt like there was a real lack of...self awareness. 😕 4y
86 likes4 stack adds10 comments
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Reynosa8701
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“ Time lounging to read a book felt overly indulgent; almost as though such leisure was reserved for another class. I had to prove my worth for receiving government benefits. This book is so good! I‘m listening to it on Libby app!

Smrloomis I really liked this too 👍🏽 4y
13 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
MelKelsey
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Pickpick

Book 4
A memoir about the cycle of poverty and the stigmas of government welfare, this was an excellent listen! While the writing doesn't wow, it certainly doesn't hinder. The author's voice is the strength of the book and the force behind its engagability, especially since she's the reader. I was disappointed there wasn't more and would be happy for a sequel about the next chapter of her life. 4.5 stars

14 likes1 stack add