I had a hard time with this one. As many others have pointed out, this book is less of a criticism of the structures that uphold and reinforce poverty than a recounting of Land’s individual experiences, which left me feeling like the book was shallow - like there were critical questions Land could’ve at least asked, if not answered. Land objectively struggled and was short changed by the people and systems around her. But instead of focusing on that, this story focuses on individual decisions and interactions.

There were some inconsistencies I couldn’t overlook. Land complains of the pain she suffers due to her work, that occasionally lands her in the emergency room/urgent care, but also says she has no health insurance and avoids medical care because she can’t afford it. Often she complains about the anonymity of being a house cleaner but also describes the many clients she has who treat her kindly, and help her out on countless occasions.

She also complains when she moves into Alice’s apartment that her new landlord wanted her to sign paperwork related to their work/rent swap agreement, and that most people were “more trusting.” I can’t understand getting a great deal to move into a new place out of the apartment with black mold that’s making your toddler sick but being annoyed about what seems like reasonable paperwork.

I think Land is a good writer and does have a perspective worth sharing, but I was disappointed by what she chose to focus on in this book and how she chose to tell her story as an individual set of experiences instead of part of a broader system that’s failing single mothers and others who have fallen upon hard times.

if I hear one more person say “my taxes pay for your food stamps,” I’m going to lose it

should’ve been shorter

i grew up on food stamps i remember feeling ashamed of getting in line at the grocery store with my mom but i couldn’t let her know because she felt the same way and was trying her best i am forever grateful

This was a terrific book. Stephanie Land's story is an important one, and although it was tough to read, I'm so glad I did. I appreciated her honesty and heartfelt delivery of a difficult period in her life.

Maid begins with Stephanie moving into transitional housing, from a homeless shelter. She describes her mother and stepfather helping her move, and recalls her daughter's recent birthday party that her father and other family attended. My initial thought was, "Why doesn't her family help her? What kind of parents would let their daughter live in a homeless shelter?" The chapters that follow then describe the family dynamics, and I understand how her upbringing shaped her current situation. Her relationships with her parents and the father of her daughter, Mia, are so gut wrenching to read. Stephanie truly is alone in her journey to raise Mia and has little support from anyone.

A lot of the book describes how she uses government assistant programs, and Stephanie's experience helps the reader to see the flaws in the system. She says, "I was overwhelmed by how much work it took to prove I was poor." The parts where she retells her experience going grocery shopping and being judged by other shoppers for using food stamps and her WIC benefits made me cringe. We never know what situation someone is in, and the rude remarks she receives are just terrible.

As implied by the title, Stephanie spends years working as a house cleaner to make ends meet. I loved the chapters focused on her different clients, and how she perceived them, and especially how they treated her. It was so sad to read about how much she cherished the clients that treated her as a person, rather than an invisible service provider. She really needed those small acts of kindness because she truly had no friends or many relationships where she felt cared for.

I do wish the ending had a little more closure. The acknowledgements reveal that she is married and has another daughter now; I wish the book would have given us a glimpse of her new life. Arguably, this book was focused on Stephanie's journey from poverty.

Great book, I highly recommend!

Wow, this lady had everyone fooled big time. I’ve heard so many good things about this memoir and it was a top book on so many lists when it came out in 2019—I hated it. It is literally 300 pages of a white woman complaining. She writes about her time working as a maid, living on food stamps, while trying to raise her young daughter as a single mom. I could probably write 300 pages of my own on why I despised this book, but I’ll try to keep it brief (-ish).

Stephanie Land thinks she’s a victim of everything. She feels sorry for herself, thinks she’s super special and doesn’t deserve the circumstances she’s in. The way she acts and writes, you would think all this was happening to her when she was 19 or 20. No. This woman is 28 years old when she gets pregnant with her daughter and then the years of “poverty” as calls it, begin. She bemoans the fact that she had to give up college when her daughter was born. Um ma’am you are 30, what were you doing this whole time. She’s super judgmental about everyone else beside herself. She’s entitled and whiny. I don’t doubt that she worked hard, but she acts as if she’s the only one in the whole world that does. She also says absolutely nothing about her white privilege and instead wonders why she’s able to find housing sooo much more easily than other people on government assistance. And actually, this book wouldn’t have even been published if she weren’t white. Because this hard life she was living for a total of 3 years, is the harsh reality of many people for their whole lives.

Other things that irked me—her daughter takes ballet lessons and has to drink organic milk only. Stephanie eventually does enroll in school part time, and guess what courses she takes? French lessons. She buys herself a diamond ring because she says she doesn’t need a man to buy her one. She got mad that her dad forgot her birthday and when he sends her $100 as a gift, she decides to buy an expensive lunch to stick it to him. Obviously there’ nothing wrong with these things objectively, but if you’ve just spent 150 pages talking about how little money you have, maybe you should start spending it more wisely. It actually makes me mad that she’s profited so much from this book now because her ego didn’t need to be any larger. She goes on and on about her ex-boyfriends and her parents and how unhelpful they are. Lady, you are a grown woman. And she treats them badly too, so I don’t know why she expects any different. Okay, I’ll stop with my ranting, but bottom line—I detest this book and this woman and I would give this book zero stars if I could