maid

Author: Stephanie Land

Genre: Non-Fiction/ Memoir

Page Count: 268

Read if you like this quote: “When you read about the lives of other people…you are part of their lives for that moment. You inhabit their lives and you feel what they’re feeling and that is compassion.” -Amy Tan

B’s Thoughts: 

“Maid” provides a look into the world of a single mother that doesn’t have a safety net. Safety nets, I have learned from, come in many different and unexpected forms. Stephanie Land found herself without one single form of a safety net which provided heartbreak in ways that are unimaginable. Her experience was a bit eye opening to me and I found myself becoming uncomfortable at some parts of the story. Not because of graphic information or anything like that, but I became uncomfortable with myself as I noticed myself judging Stephanie and the different things she spent money on or work she did. With that being said, that is one of the reasons I love to read. I learned so much about how in today’s world much of the system is designed to keep impoverished people mired in poverty. Not only this, but I recognized my own intolerance, or better yet, impatience with a single mother who is trying to move through a system that is stacked against her. Finally, I realized while reading the emotional turmoil that this young mother felt. My judgement and intolerance was in check by the second half of the book because let’s face it judgement hurts and I didn’t want to give Stephanie Land anymore than she already was getting 😦 .

Overall I feel as though Stephanie Land’s book provides a great point of view and provoked me to inhabit her life in a thoughtful way while reading. At times the story was mundane and a bit anticlimactic, but if you take the time to reflect on the lives in the story your mind will be busy.