I actually watched the TV show first so everything was so exaggerated in there, this book was less dramatic. But it was still a harrowing, interesting story that we should all look at and take note of. This is a person that suffered greatly, even with white privilege. Imagine those that have stories even worse with no support and ability to tell their story. I’m grateful for this book so I can keep that in mind and look out for my community. I hope those that are living in their own bubble will take a chance, read this book, and see how much we need to come together and look out for each other. An important read. 

I guess I've been drawn to picking up non-fiction/memoirs about people who are in the care of their state, receive state/federal assistance, etc. and WOW has it been heavy.

Maid was well written and I was captivated by Stephanie's story. The reality of life as a single mother, needing assistance to survive, and working as a house cleaner are all things I've never experienced and knowing what that is like from the perspective of someone who lived those things for years and years and years was very eye opening.

Yes, this book is as good as the hype says. I recommend!

I devoured this book in 24 hours. I have wanted to read this book since watching the Netflix series. Being a therapist who often sees survivors of Domestic Violence I really liked how the series explored the honest realities of fleeing DV, custody battles and I also loved the stories of her houses as she battled to make a better life for her family.
The book is similar but different, both highlight the battles of the system, the hoops that have to be jumped through. In differences - one it starts when she moves to transitional housing, so you do not see the initial abuse or difficulties navigating the system. Second, it highlights the hoops she has to jump through and the cycle of poverty she can’t break free from that I had never considered before.  As a third difference, it’s more raw, not romanticised or dramatised - Stephanie makes a lot of really valid and understandable decisions. She moves in with a boyfriend who turns out to exploit her financially, cycles of abuse that are actually really common in abuse even with support and education around breaking the cycle. She then is determined to stay single and manage on her own, using men just for keeping off the loneliness, something I know one single parent with very similar circumstances is doing at the moment. Choosing to go on holiday rather than moving home, this I can also understand, after what had been years with no break and living on a shoestring it makes sense that she bought items for herself. I appreciate her including this - she could have hidden it! It’s different to what I think I might do, but I’ve never been in her shoes. I’ve read lots of reviews, especially on goodreads, criticising her as a ‘whiny, privileged woman’ and people being shocked that at 28 she had no savings or career. She described working in a tourist town, where jobs centred around this - thus there are few jobs you can make a career out of. In addition, it sounds like her upbringing was pretty unsupportive and also in poverty - meaning career planning may not have been instilled on her (the tv show really exemplified this) as does the fact they lived in a trailer initially. She was on birth control - naturally a conversation about pregnancy hadn’t happened with her partner as they weren’t planning on staying together, she was heading to college to make a career for her future. I can totally understand the decision not to abort, even though her life wasn’t stable and she didn’t have things together at her age. Some people are late bloomers and it takes time to work out that college/uni is a good idea and worth it for you. Something that must be hard when your mum is the only person with a degree that she knows of and everyone else seems to have struggled with pay check to pay check living and the financial crash. 

I’d love to read more books of a similar style, most autobiographies I’ve read have focused on the pain and suffering with no commentaries on the social systems and how it relates to their situation. Most detailing abuse from childhood and not starting in adulthood, so the writing style seemed much more reflective than venting. 

I look forward to reading some of the review suggestions 

Stephanie Land wrote about poverty and the "real" parts of poverty and making too much and not enough. I think the reactions of those around her say a lot about people in general that those in poverty or on WIC/Food stamps are often seen as a certain group and she didn't look the part or needed owe someone else. However, how she handled Mia was a little concerning. After getting a tax refund and knowing her daughter was sick due to black mold, she went out and bought jewelry and had fun instead of putting it towards somewhere else. 


Tw: SA
Also, I think more should have been done with custody. At the end Mia starts wetting the bed, losing weight, and has a few other "warning signs". She was also frequently left alone with groups of unknown men. I hope that in real life, Land took her to get checked up and brought this up to someone. In the book, it seemed she just meantined it briefly to the caseworker.


I also think the book ended too early in their journey. She still has loans and didn't have a "forever" place. 

I have been wanting to read this for awhile, especially after Netflix released a show inspired by the book. I want to start off by recommending this book to anyone who thinks wealth and security are the guaranteed products of hard work, to those people who think that not every job deserves a livable wage, or are comfortable with people working 2-3 jobs just to barely get by. This is the story of one woman's daily struggle to keep herself and her daughter sheltered, fed, and alive. It is a raw look at how our social safety nets don't protect everyone, and how our assistance programs limit single mothers' ability to ever rise out of poverty. This book brought a lot of anxiety out of me, of the feelings of fear and inadequacy when I was younger, trying to make it working and going to school, thankful I had parents who could help me with rent so I at least had a roof over my head. Thinking of the times my car broke down or needed new brakes and I was in-between paychecks, living in an area with inadequate public transport, calling my parents crying and them graciously helping me. Thinking, what if I didn't have them? What if I also had a small child to take care of? Things happen outside of our control every day, that aren't our fault, yet there is so much stigma around needing help just to get out of a bad situation. This book really helps you to center yourself and wonder how far away you are from poverty, if you aren't already there. Is it your car breaking down once? An Emergency Room or Ambulance bill? All of sudden losing the only childcare you are able to afford? At one point the author stated that we are taught to always put money aside to save for a rainy day, but what do you do when every day is a rainy day? I took the time to read through some of the reviews on Goodreads and was disheartened by some people's responses. Their attitude about the choices Land made in her life, their criticism of a life and situation they, themselves, have never been in. It shows how classist many Americans are, when you believe that people in poverty should always be working, should never get rest or do fun things, should never splurge on a restaurant meal, jewelry, or a fun trip. That people in poverty shouldn't be allowed to buy steak with ebt or get discounts on housing and other services. It's appalling to me that other people actually believe that people in poverty deserve to live miserable lives and that "if they only worked harder" they wouldn't be in their situation.