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  • Maid

  • Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive
  • By: Stephanie Land
  • Narrated by: Stephanie Land
  • Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (150 ratings)

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Maid

By: Stephanie Land
Narrated by: Stephanie Land
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Publisher's Summary

'My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter.'   

As a struggling single mum, determined to keep a roof over her daughter's head, Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, working long hours in order to provide for her small family. In Maid, she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today's inequitable society.    

As she worked hard to climb her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labour jobs as a cleaner whilst also juggling higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told. The stories of the overworked and underpaid.    

Written in honest, heart-rending prose and with great insight, Maid explores the underbelly of the upper-middle classes and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. 'I'd become a nameless ghost,' Stephanie writes. With this audiobook, she gives voice to the 'servant' worker, those who fight daily to scramble and scrape by for their own lives and the lives of their children.

©2019 Stephanie Land (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about Maid

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    4 out of 5 stars

Insightful

I was curious about this book because of an earlier review criticising the author of wingeing and not taking responsibility. Listening to the book gave me such an insight into the relentless nature of poverty and the precarious nature of life where there is no room to be ill or have a car accident. I saw honesty not wingeing and felt the author was not seeking to be liked, and I admired her for that. I also appreciated the unsettling relationships she had with some of her cleaning clients, people into whose most intimate parts of their lives she intruded, yet she remained a stranger to them. Not comparable to interactions with a check out operator, in my opinion. The saddest part of the book was her sense of constantly being judged by others as undeserving, rather than a victim of extremely bad luck. She certainly did not choose her family, and for those who watched the Netflix series, I found her real family situation more poignant than in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

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the strength of human spirit

What a great book, even better that the series on netflix, although that was superb too. This is a meditation on strength, perseverance, courage, love, privilege and lack thereof. A wonderful expose of the limitations of systems that are meant to help but often don't help. Lovely to hear about some of the wonderful people whose lives were touched by Stephanie's help.

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Amazing

This book will stay with me for a lifetime. Stephanie is so engaging, raw and honest. It is impossible not to love her. As a mother, I can literally feel her bond with Mia. She makes me want to be more present and patient with my own children, during the little moments of life that pass by all too quickly.

For those that have seen the Netflix series, the book is different enough to not feel like you are reading what you just watched. But it is similar enough to have the same ability to pull you in and break your heart. Multiple times.

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2 people found this helpful

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Amazing

What an incredible story, well written and well read. Definitely a book I need to get in hard copy

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Powerful

I watched the Netflix series which stuck with me for months. I listened to the audiobook and it felt like I was reading my own mother’s diary, she had also fled a domestic violence situation when I was only 4. Stephanie’s book provided me a perspective and closure in a way that therapy couldn’t.

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Great story!

Finished it in one sitting.Well read by the amazing author. Fascinating insight into life below the poverty line, and lots of fun gossip about other people's lives seen from the point of view of their invisible cleaner. The terrific story is underscored by it now being chosen for a Netflix series. Can't understand why another reviewer complained of whingeing- it was completely the opposite. This book could only be disliked by misogynists and the sort of people who mistreat cleaners by underpaying them, leaving their homes in a mess, or leavibg inappropriate personal items during house cleans. 🤷‍♀️

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4 people found this helpful

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Inspirational

love it more real than the Netflix serie which I also like . Book are usually better.

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2 people found this helpful

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Loved it.

So so good. Really inspired me. Such an amazing story of struggle and resilience and reaching goals.

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Beautifully written & narrated

A truly inspiring woman, I wish them a happy & healthy life. One of my favourite books!

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Fantastic!

fabulous narration by the author, great writing too really good book, just loved it 😊

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