77 pages 2 hours read

Stephanie Land

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2019

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Introduction

Teacher Introduction

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

  • Genre: Nonfiction; memoir; social commentary
  • Originally Published: 2019
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
  • Structure/Length: 3 parts; 27 chapters; approximate 270 pages; approximately 8 hours, 34 minutes on audio
  • Central Concern: In Maid, Stephanie Land offers an intimate and unflinching account of her years as a house cleaner in the Pacific Northwest. Navigating the complexities of poverty, houselessness, and bureaucracy, she paints a vivid portrait of the working poor in America. The narrative also delves into the challenges faced by single mothers in a system that often seems designed to keep them from succeeding.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Discussions of poverty, intimate partner abuse/domestic violence, houselessness, and societal inequalities; sexual content (references to pornography); profanity

Stephanie Land, Author

  • Bio: Freelance writer whose work has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications; advocates for national economic justice; experiences as a maid gave her unique insights into the lives of the working poor; focused on personal narratives that provide voice to those often silenced or stereotyped

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

  • The Psychological Costs of Poverty
  • The Linked Traumas of Poverty and Abuse
  • The Search for Home
  • Motherhood in Poverty

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will: