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Is scrubbing toilets the ticket to easy street? Read about Stephanie Land’s struggle to pay the bills in Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

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My Review:

Everyone has a story and it is possible that Stephanie Land’s is not all that unique.  That is the importance of her telling us about her job as a Maid, her strength and persistence to support herself and her daughter while bringing to light the challenges so many people living in poverty are faced with when it comes to getting government assistance.  Perceived laziness and free ride mentality are hurtful stigmas that hardworking men and women fight against when unfortunate circumstances find them living below the poverty line.

In a similar vein of Educated by Tara Westover, Stephanie Land beautifully expresses her insights on humanity and gives a voice to the hardworking people who like her, struggle to stay afloat doing domestic labor jobs working for the wealthier to earn a living, apply for housing assistance and vouchers for food, barter for room and board and strive to the best single parent possible…all while on the quest for higher education to create a better life.

According to the US Census Bureau, close to 40 million people in this country live in poverty, with women and minorities leading the charge.

If you want to read more stories about poverty, try Heartland by Sarah Smarsh and Evicted by Matthew Desmond.

Enjoy this Video interview of author Stephanie Land.

Goodreads Summary

 

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About the Author:

Stephanie Land is the author of MAID: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Guardian; Vox, Salon, and many other outlets. She focuses on social and economic justice as a writing fellow through both the Center for Community Change and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. She lives in Missoula, Montana, with her two daughters. Follow on Instagram and Twitter @stepville.

 

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Just Between Us by Rebecca Drake

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My Review:

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Educated by Tara Westover

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My Review:

The author’s coming of age in Educated is incredible, tragic, praiseworthy and monumental.  From a young girl loving and believing everything her parents tell her to questioning their logic and actively pursuing different answers and other ways of thinking, Tara Westover has the inherent desire to know more.  Reminiscent of The Glass Castle, Tara lives with her survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho, and similar to  Leah Remini’s account of her time as a scientologist in Troublemaker, Tara begins to realize all she is told may not be the truth and although she is fiercely loyal to her parents and siblings she feels trapped and begins to question their nonconventional, way of life.
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