Maid was written by Stephanie Land and published by Legacy Lit in 2019. You can purchase it on Amazon/Kindle. Visit the author on Facebook and Amazon.
Plugged into a system of unrelenting poverty, domestic abuse and family dysfunction, she cleans her way to freedom and self respect. Life can derail dreams and send someone down a dark and depressing path. In the case of Stephanie Land, her aspirations to go to college and to become a writer were dashed because of an unplanned pregnancy after a summer fling. The father wanted her to terminate the pregnancy but that was not the choice she would make. At 28 years of age she soon became a single mother and took a job as a housekeeper, struggling to survive on meager wages. Soon her and her daughter were homeless. Despite the low wages and difficult conditions she continued her work as a maid and took interest in her clients lives and often wondered about their lifestyles and wrote about the people and their houses even though most were not present during her cleaning duties. She was just a "nameless ghost" going about her business of cleaning dirty toilets and scrubbing complete households. She wrote about her experiences with navigating government programs, which included food stamps and housing assistance. Land was shamed by government employees who were suppose to help her and she also faced the wrath of others in food stores who looked down on her as she desperately tried to keep herself and her child fed. She and her daughter were stigmatized as just another member of the working poor. It takes courage to write a memoir about situations and struggles that most would want to put behind them; however it's these life changing events that makes for an interesting and sobering story. I liked her writing style and the honesty about her choices in life. I applaud her accomplishments, especially her endeavors to become an accomplished writer. She made it to the top of the best seller lists! If you're looking for a memoir that brings with it inspiration and grit, this is it! I loved it!
I give Maid 4 out of 5 stars.
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