Maid: Hard work, low pay and a mother’s will to survive is the story of Stephanie Land, her daughter Mia and their life after domestic violence. Land found herself escaping an abusive relationship with a toddler in tow, she had no support system and no place to go. With very few financial options available to her, she did what she could – using what little government assistance was available to her she started work as a maid.
Maid offers insights into life as one of the invisible, life working as the domestic help inside wealthy Washington state homes. Through a series of circumstances not wholly of her own making Land is left with few options – her employment prospects consisted of a collection of dirty jobs with absurdly low pay.
Land spent years straddling two worlds, working in large sprawling homes with innumerable nooks and crannies to get clean and the other as the working poor; a single mother trying to navigate poverty. Maid is the story of her journey through these two worlds and the sheer raw determination it took to get her & her daughter out of the poverty trap, out of the grip of the system. Once you enter the world of government aid it is almost impossible to escape.
Poverty is hard work; you simultaneously have to prove you are gainfully employed while at the same time proving you have no money and Land brings speaks to a number of important issues; the interminable amount of paperwork required to apply for government aid, only being able to apply for aid that you know exists and the rigidity of the system in which the working poor have to operate – Her day to day existence is a drastic, desperate story of survival.
I have only one negative, I found Land’s descriptions of the contents of her clients homes a little invasive, I found her snooping just crossed a line for me. Your memoir should be about your life, your struggle, your story not your clients private life. Having said that; It is only a small facet of Land’s story and shouldn’t take away from the big picture.
Land’s narrative is insightful, its a breath of fresh air, full of grit, determination and the will to succeed. She paints a vivid picture of the effects of economic disparity and through her bleak and disheartening portrayal we see a glimmer of hope. Her prose is straight forward, easy to follow and conversational. Land is unapologetic honestly and raw, its a cracking debut.
mrsdilemma 