“What my mind needed to know was that someone was there to make it all better. That summer, through gritted teeth, I’d decided that person was me, not a man or a family, and it would only ever be me. I had to stop hoping for someone to come along and love me. I had to do it myself, ducking my head and barreling through anything life brought.” – 2/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: cabbage patch kids, Ariel dolls, car accidents, food stamps, landscapes, cleaning supplies, dirty toilets and a lot of complaining.

At 28, Stephanie Land’s plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly.

Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it’s like to be in service to them. “I’d become a nameless ghost,” Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients’ lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path.

Her writing as a journalist gives voice to the “servant” worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie’s story, but it’s not her alone…

Wow… I never thought in a million years I would give this book a negative review. I wanted to read this for the longest time because I knew in my heart I would find here an inspiring story from a strong woman who beat the odds. Yeah, well, my heart was wrong.

When I was younger, we had a neighbor that was constantly talking about her own life (even when no one asked), and she was constantly complaining of how miserable her life was compared to others. Stephanie reminded me a lot of her.

I think the biggest turn off for me was her attitude towards life. I just couldn’t feel sorry for her (and trust me, I REALLY tried). I don’t want to come across as insensitive, but the truth is: this was a sob story. There was a lot of “poor me” and “I don’t have nice things”, and I wasn’t having it. She was constantly talking about all the things she didn’t have and all the things her employers had – makeup, clothes, forniture, meals, hobbies, homes… you name it and she would want it. She was extremely unlikeable, but still I tried to give her a chance and I tried to put myself in her shoes… but I couldn’t connect to her. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen my own mother’s struggle while growing up or maybe it’s because I know a lot of single mothers who went through hell to raise their children and never complained. Either way, the book felt very entitled and privileged – which is even weirder, considering that’s exactly the opposite of what she wanted the book to be about.

Not only that, but I was bored the entire time and I considered DNFing this five times. It was a cycle of cleaning scenes, self-pity, more cleaning, jealousy for the employer’s possessions and more cleaning.

I’m sorry for writing such a negative review, but I was disappointed with this book. I find people fascinating and I love to learn from their experiences and perspectives, but this story didn’t feel inspirational at all. There are so many inspirational women out there with great books, and this one is just about a woman complaining non-stop. I would skip it.

xoxo,