Book SummaryMaid, by Stephanie Land

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Maid

Maid is Stephanie Land’s New York Times bestselling memoir of her life as a single mom struggling to make ends meet by working as a housekeeper and relying on government assistance.

While it’s not meant to be political, Land’s story does present a broader social commentary on the American “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality. In contrast to the common perception that poverty is the result of laziness or bad choices, Land puts forth her own life as an example of how circumstances beyond a person’s control can force them into poverty and keep them there. She demonstrates how factors such as domestic abuse, lack of a support system, a weak labor market, and flawed government policies make it extremely difficult for her to lift herself out of poverty, no matter how hard she works. Maid is not so much a story of overcoming poverty as it is of surviving it. Land is, however, able to improve her circumstances.

(Shortform note: Following the events on which the book is based, Land went on to become a freelance writer. She received early support from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, a nonprofit founded by Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickel and Dimed, and who also wrote the forward to Maid). Land wrote a viral article for Vox about her experiences as a maid, leading to a book deal. Maid was adapted into a popular, critically acclaimed Netflix miniseries, finally bringing Land the financial stability she worked so many years to achieve.)

The book moves back and forth in time, beginning with Land and her daughter’s life in a homeless shelter, then jumping backward to show how they ended up there. This...

Maid Summary Part 1: Land’s Story

Stable, Middle-Class Childhood

Land was born in rural Washington, and she comes from generations of poverty on both sides of her family. However, her parents managed to achieve financial stability. The family moved to Alaska when Land was 7. There, she had a relatively middle-class upbringing, where she lived in the suburbs and attended church with her family.

Parents’ Divorce and Absence From Land’s Life

When Land was in her early 20s, her mother had an affair, resulting in her parents’ divorce. Land’s mother married a younger man and moved to Europe to live with him. As a result, Land and her mother rarely see each other. Land’s father also remarried.

Both of Land’s parents are now struggling financially. Land also feels that they both prioritize their relationships with their new spouses over their relationship with her.

Relationship With Jamie and Having a Baby

Land moves back to Washington from Alaska in her late 20s and meets Jamie. She and Jamie both work at cafes and in a variety of odd jobs in Port Townsend. Both have big plans for the future. Land has always wanted to become a writer; she dreams of attending the writing program at the University...

Maid Summary Part 2: Key Themes—Circumstances That Contribute to Land’s Poverty

Beyond being a story of Land’s life, Maid is a broader social commentary on the American “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality. Land demonstrates that American stereotypes about the poor—that they are lazy, they are freeloaders, that their situation is the result of bad choices—aren’t only untrue and demeaning, they also ignore overarching causes of poverty that go beyond questions of personal responsibility.

Land puts forth her own life as an example of how systemic problems and circumstances beyond a person’s control can force them into poverty and keep them there. She shows how abuse, single motherhood, a weak labor market, the lack of an education or a support system, flawed government policies, and the cyclical nature of poverty all contribute to and compound poverty, making it extremely difficult for her to pull herself out no matter how hard she works.

Abuse

Jamie’s emotional, psychological, and verbal abuse of Land precipitates her descent into poverty. Land is forced to leave the home she shares with Jamie because she no longer feels safe, but she has nowhere else to go, and she ends up in a homeless shelter.

Not only does the abuse cause...

Shortform Exercise: Change Your Perceptions of Poverty

Maid paints a picture of poverty in America with which many readers are unfamiliar. Examine your perceptions of poverty and its causes.

Think about your earliest perceptions of poverty and the poor. What were your assumptions, and what were the sources of those opinions? (For example, school, family, books, personal experiences)