Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced copy. I truly enjoyed this memoir. It is the story of Stephanie Kiser and how she fell into nannying for the ultra wealthy. Her story is an interesting look at what it is like to care for children in wealthy NYC families, but also her personal journey as she grows and evolves from a college graduate and finds herself and figures out her niche in life. I felt some avenues weren’t truly explored, however this may be due to keeping the scope of the book on her work as a nanny.

My thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

Super catchy title and cover, and the book delivers with plenty of juicy anecdotes. There are plenty of funny one-liners here too. Although the author could have gone further in her analysis of most of the social issues (in my opinion), this is a well worthy read for musings on the lives of the 1%, how they treat their "help", and finding yourself when you're not one of them.

“If I know one thing, it is that the old saying rings true: Money can’t buy happiness. Though I can absolutely see why you’d be temped to believe that it can get you pretty darned close.”

This is a fast-paced memoir, written from the first person perspective of a nanny in NYC. Chapters switch between Kiser’s present day life as a nanny for the rich and famous and flashbacks to her (very different, traumatic) childhood. Sometimes a book can feel clunky when it switches back and forth, but that wasn’t the case here - I equally loved both story lines!

What I didn’t love:
Kiser flaunts political opinions (that read as facts) throughout the book. She dives into abortion and pro-choice (with her own traumatic abortion experience included*), to racism and Black Lives Matter, to democrat/republican stances (she paints all republicans as ignorant and uninformed), to stay at home moms/working moms (the latter is better), to religion. Sometimes it seemed like she was pulling from a non significant experience to expound her political/social stances.

*I greatly appreciated her honesty in her writing about having her own abortion and the aftermath of it. In writing about her mindset afterwards she says, “I claimed to want to do better than my family, but I’d just made the exact same mistake my parents had. Only, unlike them, I was a coward. I didn’t face my mistake. I just eliminated it.” And goes on to question, “Was it my own mother who had stumbled through motherhood? Or was a bad mother the one too selfish to even give her child life?”

You’ll love this if you:
•want an inside scoop on being a nanny in NYC
•like rough & tumble memoirs, like The Glass Castle

TW: abortion, racism, mental health issues, attempted suicide

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own 🙂

I was a live-out nanny in 1990 & '91 and a live in for 5 families from 1992–2002. I loved The Nanny Diaries and was excited to read a nonfiction book about nannying. I found some of the timeline jumps confusing for the first couple of minutes but always figured it out. Stephanie does a great job of comparing how she grew up and the dysfunction with how the 1% live and their own dysfunction. Obviously we're only getting her POV, but she seems fair. She praises the parents who spend quality time with their kids, treat their employees well, and keep their own drama from their kids. She doesn't go into too much or too little detail. I most appreciated how she was open to changing her political beliefs instilled in her by her blue-collar, conservative parents. She came to realize that most folks who receive government assistance work hard, often more than one job; that immigrants are treated poorly (or just ignored) by many people in their lives, including their employers; that going to college and taking out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans isn't always a great idea; that people living in poverty tend to vote against their own interests because they believe the lies Fox tells them instead of paying attention to facts. I very much enjoyed the book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC of
Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant
How Nannying for the 1% Taught Me about the Myths of Equality, Motherhood, and Upward Mobility in America
by Stephanie Kiser.

I absolutely adore books depicting behind-scenes reality of the elite wealthy. Add NYC to that, even more delicious!

This book contains a lot of class comparison/envy/awe, something I could personally relate to.

In this memoir, MC Stephanie comes into nannying after discovering the difficulties of breaking into the entertainment writing industry in NYC.

She sheepishly explains her trajectory in the same way I have read other authors explain how they became a sex worker.
She feels her job - noting that nannying is not a career - choice is beneath her while simultaneously spending her time in the elite home of a wealthy 1% family.
Stephanie is also lonely, comparing her friends’ social lives with the insular one of a nanny.

She often wonders what she might have achieved if she had grown up as her privileged charge Ruby is. Stephanie grew up poor with no resources and had difficulty fitting in academically. She blames this on being “born into the wrong class.”

Motherhood and White Privilege are also touched upon. Stephanie realizes that while she is a nanny, she is a privileged one.

She also develops empathy for how taxing motherhood is at any economic level but backbreaking for the poor, which her own mother was.

This book contains a lot of coverage of Stephanie’s childhood, illuminating the origins of her adult challenges and covetous attitudes.
I did not enjoy these chapters as much as the present-day nannying ones.

Stephanie eventually expands her knowledge of politics during her later home life, realizing that her beliefs were formed in the echo-chamber of her family’s conservative stance. She begins to have a greater understanding for how politics affects the poor, of which she knows they all have been. The dichotomy is eventually not lost on her. She grows.

Stephanie begins to enjoy the children’s moments of cute affection toward her, amid the exhausting wailing demands inherent in her daily life. “Because with every blissful moment with a child comes ten more of hell.” “I love him so much but I hate being his nanny.”
There is also a mixed emotional state with Stephanie’s mother employers, some of whom she comes to regard as friends - until she makes a nanny mistake. She is always on the edge of true relationships.

In the end, burned out, she questions what she had thought it meant to be a success, and what the costs were.

Then Covid hit, and she is stuck with the family as well as witnessing the class-divide around her. Wealthy families leave virus exposure to their (colored) hired help. The ones who will not quarantine simply lose their jobs and income.
Nannies are a part of their families until they are simply not, and are in fact treated as “less than people.”
Stephanie never experiences this as a white nanny.
She witnesses such 1% Covid luxuries as neighborhood “Mansion Camp” for the kids. They are privileged away from the harsh realities of the pandemic for so many.

Stephanie spends the majority of this book feeling envy and jealousy, concerned for herself and her peers how her life appeared from the outside.
She eventually realizes that they all too have had their identity crises and challenges. She thinks, “…maybe I was doing okay after all.” It is herself she should be trying to impress.

She receives further validation of her perceived worth when she departs the nannying job for good and scores an admirable administrative assistant position, even if that title entails much of the demeaning daily assisting that encompassed a nanny job. Now it is to a head of a company instead of to toddlers and babies.

In the end, Stephanie finds a less demanding executive assistant job without the dazzling, show-off benefits. She settles on neither rich nor poor, content in a place of self-respect, something for which she searched for her whole life.

Four starts for the engaging writing, the behind-the-scenes 1% life few experience, if at a service level, and for her coming-of-age trajectory.

Four Stars. Stephanie Kiser was born into a certain kind of Providence Rhode Island family that she self-depreciating calls "white trash". After she find success as a high school basketball player and finds herself with a private school scholarship, she inadvertently ends up at an elite, private high school. Though a poor student with a self-admitted bad attitude, she eventually ends up with a college diploma from Emerson College and thousands of dollars in student loans. After moving to New York City, the best job that she can find to pay her bills is as a nanny to top 1% income earning families.
Caught in a conundrum of "your money or your life" thinking, Stephanie has trouble figuring out how to afford the material goods that she wants versus the life that she wants for herself creatively. Along the way, she finds herself falling in love with the children and families that she cares for.

This book is an interesting read that made me feel all the feels.
I would recommend it to readers who like memoirs about social class.
Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. It will be published on August 6, 2024.

I thought this book was interesting, both to learn about the author’s early years but also to see how the wealthy live. Well written, definitely kept my interest, especially with celebrities being name dropped or hinted at (I want to know who the celebrity was that she met while on vacation with the family, who was nicer than expected).

This book was so good! It gave a very interesting insight in an industry that we really don't hear a lot about, and it taught lessons that can only be learned through that specific job. I really enjoyed hearing the author's story and experiencing, through her eyes, what the nannying industry is really like. Overall, AMAZING book, would 1,000% recommend!

Brilliant! I really loved this one. It hit close to home as a parent/personal assistant to a toddler.

I loved this read because it was not only a great look at the lives of the rich, but also an interesting examination of the authors own childhood experiences. The contrast made the point of the book that much more poignant and provided allowed the book to feel connected rather than being simply a collection of stories.

Stephanie Kiser is a great writer and a sympathetic subject herself. I definitely enjoyed this read and would look for more from her! Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced copy for review!

This is a fascinating memoir of nannying for the elite rich in New York City. I found the author’s voice fun and honest and the writing style was great! Her stories were so interesting and horrifying in certain parts. She also integrates a lot about her personal upbringing to make comparisons of how different income levels effect so many different aspects of life. I will say I might have preferred a little more about the nannying and a little less on the author’s past, however I can understand it with the author using it to make her overall points. A very interesting read overall that I’m very happy to have picked up!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC ebook!

Overall I really enjoyed the book. The synopsis made me think it was going to be a recounting of her nannying jobs, which it was to an extent. I expected funny stories and eye rolling recounts of rich people antics.

What I didn’t expect was her comparisons and discussion of her childhood and how it compares to that of the children she cared for. It was eye opening in some ways, especially to see how differently she was treated as a young white woman compared to some of the other darker skinned nannies. At this point it shouldn’t surprise me to see this, but I honestly assumed they would all be treated like the help regardless of skin color.

I will admit (as a liberal leaning reader), that her political views started to sour me at some point. But that was more discussion, and exactly her aim-pointing out the differences in how even political views can be skewed by the amount of money you are raised with. Her family was poor and believed in hardworking values and the republican stance that foreigners were infiltrating and taking jobs away. Her rich employers had the funds and cushion to afford them a more liberal outlook. It took her awhile to realize that political beliefs aren’t always so cut and dried.

Side note- Super interesting look at what it looked like to be in this type of service industry during Covid. This was one subject I had never thought about. I worried at the time for all of my friends who were nurses or in the restaurant industry, but never gave a thought to those who would be out of a nanny job because of the dynamic changes in quarantine households.

Thanks to Stephanie Kiser, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advance copy!

“Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant” by Stephanie Kiser is a poignant and funny memoir that offers readers a rare glimpse into the lives of America's wealthiest families. Kiser, a young woman fresh out of college, finds herself navigating the treacherous waters of New York City's high society as a personal assistant to toddlers on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Her journey unfolds against the backdrop of global uncertainty, overwhelming student loans, and an economy that often feels stacked against those trying to climb the ladder from the bottom.

Kiser's writing is both engaging and relatable. As she dons her nanny hat, she discovers that the world of Prada baby onesies and million-dollar preschools isn't all glitz and glamour. The gruelling twelve-hour days leave her with little time for personal pursuits, but the high pay keeps her afloat in the city that never sleeps. She becomes attached to the children she cares for, even as she witnesses the stark realities behind the closed doors of opulent Park Avenue apartments.

The heart of the book lies in Kiser's struggle to reconcile her dreams of a more prestigious career with the demands of her job. She yearns for creative projects and meaningful connections, but the relentless routine of nannying leaves her emotionally drained. The children become her world, and their laughter and tears shape her days. Yet, as she grows closer to them, she also becomes acutely aware of the stark disparities between their lives and her own upbringing.

Kiser's prose is both witty and introspective. She doesn't shy away from the complexities of her role, balancing the needs of the children with the expectations of their affluent parents. Her observations about motherhood, upward mobility, and the myths of equality are thought-provoking. Through her eyes, we witness the struggles faced by those who serve the 1%, and we're reminded that money doesn't guarantee happiness.

The painful decision to eventually say goodbye to the children she has grown to love forms the emotional core of the memoir. Kiser's vulnerability shines through as she grapples with the impact of her job on her own well-being. Her journey from newbie nanny to beloved caregiver is a rollercoaster of emotions, and readers will find themselves rooting for her every step of the way.

In a world where social mobility seems elusive, “Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant” serves as a powerful reminder that true fulfillment lies beyond material wealth. Kiser's storytelling is both relatable and eye-opening, making this memoir a must-read for anyone curious about the lives of America's elite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this book expecting some funny stories about nannying for the ultra-wealthy, and while it absolutely delivered those, it also went much deeper. The author contrasts her own childhood growing up in a chaotic household led by young, poor parents to the lives of her nanny charges, where every advantage in the world is available and taken for granted. She explores complex feelings about being in a role that is both better paid and less prestigious than her friends’ jobs, watching uneven division of labour between mothers and fathers in even the wealthiest households, and being treated differently from other nannies because she’s white. This book was super fascinating and I would absolutely recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this book.
I absolutely loved this book. Stephanie is simultaneously an interesting and resonant character and narrator. She's flawed in a human manner and it's wonderful to watch her grow and change. The supporting cast, from her employers and their kids, to Lila and her family are also well written and clearly examined.

The story is a mix of social climbing and understanding who she herself is independent of and in relation to family of origin and those she worked for. It was sad but wonderful to watch her recognize her own privilege even though her upbringing didn’t provide typical one, her whiteness did in the world of undocumented nannies who formed part of her social circle.

I would love to read more from Kiser, as well as more about the world of these nannies.

Her story is so well crafted with layers that struck so many emotions and thoughts about her stiuation as a nanny in New York City.

There is an easy flowing style of writing that captivates the readers attention Great read

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down! Even when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it in any way or form. It was well written and well paced. I found myself being unable to relate to the author at times but it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the overall material at any point.

I really enjoyed this fascinating look into a the lives of the 1% and one young lady from a very different background who nannied for them, This book was a quick and enjoyable read. I feel this topic was so well handled in this book as opposed to others I have read on the same topic.. . I loved the ways in which the book went back and forth between Stephanie's time as a nanny and her growing up years that led her to this place. It was also intersecting to see what happened once 2020 rolled around and Covid entered the mix. There are so many layers to her life experiences and her understanding the world as a whole. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Sourcebooks, and the author Stephanie Kiser for an advanced reader copy in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

Stephanie Kiser has written a gem of a book with Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant. Wanted is a coming of age story for a young woman who has no idea what to do after college and student loan payments are due. Kiser largely focuses on her life during this time and the lives of the children she nannies for. The author gives a rare glimpse into the life of the 1% percenters child’s childhood. While many opportunities are afforded to wealthy children, the author clearly states that her experience makes her examine how she was raised and the lack of opportunity in early life. She does take advantage of many opportunities that present later in life thus leading her to nannying. There is a bit of name dropping which adds to seeing her viewpoint in the beginning but is not necessary throughout the book. All in all, a solid read that shows how vastly different people live and rear children across socioeconomic backgrounds.

This was a lovely read about working for the uber-wealthy and the realizations came to while doing so. I found it a little hard to relate to the author at times as someone who’s experienced multidimensional oppression, but I do applaud the author for being honest about her journey realizing her privilege in America. Family, friends, and money are always complicated, so it is interesting to see how that manifests in the 1% (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic)!