Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
4.5 stars
Stephanie Land's memoir chronicles her continuous struggle to raise and support her daughter after fleeing an abusive relationship and how the government system does not often help those in need, but continue to perpetuate and trap them into neediness. This novel was a hard, but raw and real expose into the horror of poverty. The stories of Mia's illness due to the mold in their apartment and how the landlord refused to do anything about it. The stories of Stephanie cleaning house after house while her daughter went to a daycare that was not helping her sickness. The stories of cleaning houses until she was pulling muscles and had to take low-priced over the counter medicine because going to the doctor and getting a prescription was out of their price range. All of these stories hurt, but the stories of Stephanie going to Missoula for the first time bring hope. Not all of this book is pain. There are a lot of sweet and tender moments wrapped up in here, but this novel looks at one of the most painful times of Stephanie Land's life and so it makes sense that their is not a whole to rejoice about.
The writing and narration of this story are excellent. The voice of Stephanie leaps at the reader and makes you feel as if Stephanie is sitting you down for a real heart-to-heart with no barriers. This form of writing lends well to Stephanie's narrative and the plight that she had to battle through. The audiobook is also excellent to listen to. I believe it enhanced my enjoyment (if you could call it that) of this memoir and hooked me in a way that I may have not been captivated by if I had only read the text. This is a memoir you don't want to miss. I'm glad I saw it on Goodreads months ago because of karen's review. I surely would've missed out on an important narrative that is often silenced in privileged America. I highly recommend this one!
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4
Plotastic Scale: 5
Cover Thoughts: I hate this cover, but it gets the point across.
Thank you, Netgalley and Hachette Books, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
Stephanie Land's memoir chronicles her continuous struggle to raise and support her daughter after fleeing an abusive relationship and how the government system does not often help those in need, but continue to perpetuate and trap them into neediness. This novel was a hard, but raw and real expose into the horror of poverty. The stories of Mia's illness due to the mold in their apartment and how the landlord refused to do anything about it. The stories of Stephanie cleaning house after house while her daughter went to a daycare that was not helping her sickness. The stories of cleaning houses until she was pulling muscles and had to take low-priced over the counter medicine because going to the doctor and getting a prescription was out of their price range. All of these stories hurt, but the stories of Stephanie going to Missoula for the first time bring hope. Not all of this book is pain. There are a lot of sweet and tender moments wrapped up in here, but this novel looks at one of the most painful times of Stephanie Land's life and so it makes sense that their is not a whole to rejoice about.
The writing and narration of this story are excellent. The voice of Stephanie leaps at the reader and makes you feel as if Stephanie is sitting you down for a real heart-to-heart with no barriers. This form of writing lends well to Stephanie's narrative and the plight that she had to battle through. The audiobook is also excellent to listen to. I believe it enhanced my enjoyment (if you could call it that) of this memoir and hooked me in a way that I may have not been captivated by if I had only read the text. This is a memoir you don't want to miss. I'm glad I saw it on Goodreads months ago because of karen's review. I surely would've missed out on an important narrative that is often silenced in privileged America. I highly recommend this one!
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4
Plotastic Scale: 5
Cover Thoughts: I hate this cover, but it gets the point across.
Thank you, Netgalley and Hachette Books, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Maid? Do you plan to? What are some of your favorite memoirs that you recommend? Let me know down below in the comments!
I wouldn't pick this one up based on the cover alone, so I'm happy to see it was an enjoyable read! I'm not sure it would be a good fit for me, but I'm happy you're happy. :)
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
The cover is not appealing in the slightest! Thanks so much, Lindsi! Hope you are finding many good reads!
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