Maid by Stephanie Land

I read "Maid" by Stephanie Land shortly after it was published in 2019. It is the story about a 28-year-old single mother who begins working as a maid in the Pacific Northwest in order to support herself and her young daughter. Like the author David Sedaris, who also once worked as a maid early in his career, seeing the housekeeping profession through a writer's eyes is fascinating. Land writes about the relationships she has with her clients, many who would not recognize her if she was walking down the street. The book personifies the division between maids and their upper-middle class clients. While a sad read, the book really didn't come alive for me fully until I recently saw the Netflix movie of the same name starring Margaret Qualley and her real life mother, Andie MacDowell. Together, the book and the series "Maid," deftly illustrate how hard it is to fight your way back from a life of poverty while in an abusive relationship at the same time. Land, like Qualley's character, was on several different types of government assistance programs, but still was not able to support herself and pay her rent. Leaving a toxic relationship with the little girl's father was not viewed as smart, but rather reckless because she was taking her child out of a supposedly "stable two-parent home." The book and the series have us rooting for the main character to some how beat the system and carve a new life out for herself and her daughter. The promise of higher education looms in front of both women, like the golden ticket out of a very bad situation. I recommend reading the book first, and then watching the Netflix series. Together they capture a heartbreaking story but deliver a happy ending. To buy this book on Amazon click here.