8 Aug 2019
MAID by Stephanie Land
Host: Michelle
Attendees: Lori, Amy, Janna, Pam T., Myra, Susan, Julie, Gayle, Ruth, Debra, Pam M.

BOOK REVIEW:
maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land  

Hachette Books    288 pp.

By Jim Swearingen

...When Land became pregnant at 28, she tabled her dreams of a writing program at the University of Montana to raise her daughter single-handedly. A deadbeat father and a resentful boyfriend filtered through her life offering little to no support. Ultimately, to make ends meet, she became a household maid. The companies that employed her provided neither health care, nor a transportation per diem, requiring her to spend more money than she could afford to earn less money than would sustain her small family....
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Our May selection, Maid, due to so many people being unable to attend, became our August book club read. Good attendance and good conversation! Discussions included diagnosing the failures/successes of government assistance programs, observations on family support and upbringings, and poor life choices. We were both sympathetic to the author's situation and struggles, as well as critical of her decisions. 28! 28? 28!? We were appalled by some of the cruelties the author faced. (Don't judge people on what they are purchasing when in the checkout lane!) We came away with the agreement that it's always better to be kind; one never knows the battles someone else is fighting....and we all could easily be only one paycheck away from disaster as well. We felt grateful to have had family when we needed, and being able to provide family and support to our own children.
Our informal (loosey - goosey) rating system ranged from a 2 to a 4 so overall this book ranked 3 stars.

We selected our next six month's selections. See the list by clicking on the tab Our Future Selections under the blog heading.
September:
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
(Amy)