Maid

Author: Stephanie Land
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Hachette Books, 2019
Pages: 288
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: At 26, 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 dreams 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 coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employee who called her lucky for receiving assistance when she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigma 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.

Review: As is the case with memoirs, each reader is going to take something slightly different away from it. I found this so interesting, and kept cheering Stephanie on, but I also had to shake my head at some of her poor choices. At times I even felt some anxiety. 

We all weave such interesting lives. At any rate, I admired her hard work and determination. She dug deep, and should be proud of how far she's come. I will be thinking and pondering this book for a long time to come.