I received an E-Advanced Reader copy through Netgalley in exchange for a for a fair review. Thank you for the opportunity to do so!

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive documents Stephanie Land’s struggles as a single mom. Land finds herself and her daughter homeless after she leaves her abusive boyfriend. As the title suggests she works as a maid while she struggles to get out of a homeless shelter and provide for herself and her young daughter. Even when she does manage to get out of the homeless shelter life keeps knocking her down. Beaten and bruised from what life throws at her Land continues to get up and slug through, using the hope that things will get better to keep herself from giving up.
This memoir is distressing while also being inspirational at the same time. Not only does it show how people treat people when they poor, but also the struggle that they go through trying to crawl out of the incredibly deep hole of poverty. Land talks about many different situations but the two that stuck out to me the most where when Land uses SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to buy food at the supermarket. While checking out man tells her “you’re welcome” because in his mind he is the one who is helping her pay for her food with his contribution to taxes. How sad it was for someone to remark on her struggles without knowing anything about her. Another incident that stood out to me was her daughter, Mia, continuously get sick because of their living conditions. The only apartment that she can afford is a home that is damp, cold and teeming with black mold. The nurse, after Land tells her a bit about their apartment, tells her to try harder for her daughter. Even though Land frequently forgos food to feed her daughter, works a maid service job while taking more cleaning and landscaping jobs on the side. Not to mention how even earning a little bit more money will keep her from receiving some of her benefits that help her pay for Mia’s childcare while she works. Even with these hardships she manages to make it through, working to provide the best that she can for herself and Mia.
There are a few things that did bother me about this memoir. I wish that the timeline was more pronounced. Often I found myself confused as to if the time line was linear or not. I wish that years were mentioned more. Months were given but not mentioning the year every once in a while made it hard for me follow. The next thing that bothered me I am excluding from my overall dislike of the memoir until the final copy is out because I hope that it gets fixed before it’s publish next year. It has to do with using commas to separate nonessential phrases and clauses. Land with use this grammar rule twice in a sentence which can make it difficult to understand the sentence without reading it more than once taking out one phrase or clause at a time. This happens mostly in the first half of the book. So hopefully this just has to do with it not being a final copy. Finally, every once in a while there would be a paragraph that didn’t seem to relate to the what was going on in the paragraph before and after. While they gave important information it just seemed out of place.
I did like reading about Land’s hardship and struggles. It puts poverty into a perspective that allows for it to be understood. Showing the the judgement of her situation and her struggle to overcome it. I’m not sure if I want to pick up a final copy of this book, but I did enjoy the memoir.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Thank you.

I find myself struggling to find an appropriate word to describe this book. 'Inspirational' seems deficient, but there it is, nonetheless. Inspirational to those who are struggling -- an incredible story of perseverance and willingness to squeeze your eyes shut tight to take a leap into the unknown. The mountain can be conquered. Inspirational to those like me, whose life has been a cakewalk in comparison, to more regularly view the world around me with more compassion and empathy. Starting.Right.Now.

Best book I've read in a LONG time. Maybe EVER.

Maid is an eye-opening memoir of living in poverty. The narrative is strong and all the odds are against the author, but she somehow finds a way to carry on and raise her daughter while working minimum wage jobs. With rents and housing prices out of control, this book is timely. While often heart-wrenching, the narrator never gives into full hopelessness and there is always a ray of hope.

This was an eye opening, sometimes heartbreaking, look at a hard working young single mother,who relies on "the system" to help her and her baby daughter stay (barely) afloat. It may change some people's minds about those who rely on government assistance, as this was someone who genuinely needed the help and did not game the system in order to survive. She worked as much as possible to provide food and a moldy apartment for her daughter, yet it never seemed enough. One bout of sickness or a car accident would be enough to cause yet another crisis in her life. Her family and the men in her life often let her down; occasionally she would know kindness from the families that she cleaned house for. Her hard work and sheer determination to make it through college to become a writer finally won out. I would recommend this to anyone who has read and enjoyed Nickel and DImed. Thank you to Hachette and Netgalley for the advance digital review copy!

What an eye-opening read! In Maid, Land gives the reader an unflinching, honest look at what it's like to be a single mom and a service worker in today's fragile economy. A hard read at times but a necessary one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Having read Nickel and Dimed nearly 20 years ago, I was intrigued to read this upcoming release by Stephanie Land - Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, a Mother’s Will to Survive (forward by Barbara Ehrenreich). Land gives readers an unflinching account into the life of a domestic worker, struggling to provide for her daughter as a single mother. Land details both lessons learned working in various homes in the labor economy and the various government assistance programs that she turns to in order to eek out a living. This book shows the fragility of the US social safety net.

I think this is a must read. It’s an eye opening first hand account of what life is like when working at one of the lowest paid jobs in this country. My heart went out to the author as she struggled to provide for herself and her child. Having a job isn’t the magical solution so many think it is when you’re working a job that doesn’t pay a living wage yet provides too great an income to qualify for many assistance programs. How she managed was truly inspirational and provided much food for thought.

I must say, I started out a bit angry with the author. Unprotected sex? A baby comes along to destroy the dreams of going to college? Well, what did she expect would happen? But if anyone ever worked for their "handouts," Stephanie did. If anyone ever put their nose to the grindstone, put one foot in front of the other and did the right thing day after day, it was Stephanie. I learned a great deal about the welfare and social services systems, and was quite shocked to learn that the more an individual does get ahead financially or otherwise, the more the system can make it harder for them to keep pushing ahead.

The reader will no doubt be drawn to her voice, one that is so adept in technique, she can make details of cleaning other people's homes downright interesting. Who knew that in the process of cleaning up our filth, a maid can learn far more than they need to about our private lives? Indeed, they probably know more about certain aspects than we would care to admit.

In short, there wasn't a single page of this book I didn't enjoy..

This book is nothing short of brilliant. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys an engaging, fast-paced and scathing read. Similar to Evicted but from a female perspective, this book offers so much insight on what it's like to be poor in America but to keep trying and trying to make ends meet. It's also a look into domestic labour and how that impacts on the lives of women. Definitely recommend.

Maid is a harrowing tale of a young mothers will to survive while caring for her young daughter. Stephanie Land found herself homeless after leaving an abusive relationship with nowhere to go. Her parents were divorced with their own lives and new significant others so she had nowhere to turn to. She remembered how her mother would tell her how great she was at cleaning the bathrooms when she was little and answered an ad in the paper that was looking for a housekeeper.

I really felt empathetic towards her because I know a few single mothers and I know how hard it is raising a child while working.

She really delves into the poor, working class and how hard it is to keep your head above water while keeping it all together.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would look for books from her in the future.

I received an advance copy of this E-book from NetGalley.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I am glad that I read it, but from the very first page, it made me feel so blue and sad and that is a feeling I could not shake for the entire book. In fact, the tone of this book is quite depressing, which I totally understand considering the life described, but it really weighed me down and dampened my enjoyment.

I suppose if this was the point of the book, then the author succeeded beautifully.

The writing is strong and visual - making it very easy to imagine the scenarios described in the book. Considering this is not a work of fiction, I feel very badly and it did make me take a second look at my own views on people who work more behind the scenes.

How many times have I seen maids in my travel and never really bothered to think about it. This book made me think.

“Maid” is the debut memoir from Stephanie Land. It chronicles her struggle to survive while trying to provide a good life for her young daughter Mia. In the book, the author details her life as a domestic worker, juggling several jobs at a time to make ends meet, while it never be enough. She also writes about her experiences with welfare, government assistance, etc. At one point, she makes reference to 7 different programs she’s trying to apply for, how people look down at her for using WIC vouchers without understanding how hard it is to get them, to prove poverty. It was certainly a quick read and you never get the sense that the author wants you to pity or feel sorry for her. I wasn’t crazy about the end, however. I found myself skimming through it.

Absolutely loved reading this! What a great perspective on poverty and trying to escape it. Steph grew up middle-class but found herself in a homeless shelter with her toddler. She was not raised "in the system" but her story shows that we are ALL only one or two life experiences away from potential poverty. The narrative does get a little bogged-down in details in a few areas, but overall, the author does a great job of letting the reader imagine her or himself walking in the shoes of an overworked, poor, single parent steuggling to survive.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

An incredible story of one woman's fight to survive while caught in the never ending loop of our country's horribly broken system of welfare and assistance. This is one of those books that will stay with you for a very long time.

Stephanie Land's story educates us on just how flawed our public assistance services are in this country. And it's not just those systems, it's our mindsets. The stereotypes and discrimination the poor endure are just as devastating as not having enough food or a safe place to live. Those of us with financial ease or who are living our middle class, bourgeoisie lives often don't understand that public assistance programs can be almost impossible to live on, and to live without. They are meant to help someone get back on his feet in a time of crisis, but once in...it's realllllllly hard to get back out. For example: As soon as you catch a break and make $50 more a month, you are in a higher income bracket and have to pay $100 more for childcare. Or going to school is the way to a better paying job, but you work 80 hrs a week at TWO low paying jobs already just to keep your kids fed, classes are not an option for you. Or you'll never be able to leave the crummy apartment in the ghetto because even if you could make the monthly rent somewhere else, coming up with the first and last month's rent deposit is impossible.
In the same vein as "Evicted", (such a staggering, astonishing book) this book is eye-opening, sometimes shocking, and will make you angry and sad. Your annoyed thoughts will start to change next time you choose the wrong line in the grocery store and end up behind someone using food stamps. As a teacher, I thought about how many students in poverty I've taught whose parents might've seemed uninterested in their child or unwilling to help, but were in reality, probably doing all they could.
At this point, we need more than public welfare and housing reforms in the United States. Reform is not enough.

I had no idea what to expect when I requested this title and I have got to say, this is really well written and rather eye opening. Stephanie Land writes in such a way that the reader experiences her highs and her lows right along with her. There is a part of the book that made me gasp out loud, and that doesn't happen often to me. I think that this is an important book for people of all walks of life to read and I will be wholeheartedly recommending this one.

I was drawn to this memoir because I was raised by a single mother, and although our circumstances were not so dire, I felt invested in Land's account of her struggles with being a single mom who worked so hard and struggled harder. Land's writing is good, but what I really enjoyed was the way that she presented each house that she worked in as a different lesson she learned in her desperate attempts to stay afloat. While she does provide a commentary on the stigma surrounding government assistance and the difficulty of overcoming poverty, this book is primarily about the author's personal journey to escape her harrowing circumstances. It was a touching and captivating read.

I enjoyed this book of a strong single mother who didn't let things get her down but did what felt best for her life.

This is the real story of a single mother in Washington state trying to make ends meet to provide for her young daughter. It shows how welfare is a need for some in her position just struggling to survive and provide for her family.

This book gives you a glimpse into the life of those on food stamps and welfare. It shows you a little about what happens inside and how it makes people feel. This is a must read book. I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

This is a book that some may choose not to read but everyone should. This is a book that can open their heart and mind to all those "other people" you may or may not already know.
This is a book of the struggles and insights of a single mother in Washington state who works hard to provide for her young daughter and to make ends meet.

This is a book that gives small peeks into the intricacies of state and federal aid and the stigma that surrounds all those programs. This is a book that shows how "the system" can and does work properly for someone in need who is working hard but continues to struggle and needs that extra help.

This is a book that shows how close everyone truly is to be living the same sort of life through any number of choices, accidents, job loss, illness, or what have you. This is a book that spills for the realities of life in America.

This is a book worth a purchase or a library loan and would make an excellent choice as a bookclub read.