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Reviews tagging 'Bullying'
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
7 reviews
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Classism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Grief, Bullying, Excrement, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
miggyfool's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Suicide, Addiction, Drug use, and Child abuse
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Car accident, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Classism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Body shaming, Cancer, Abandonment, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Grief
mysterymom40's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Gaslighting
nevertheless_she_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Stephanie, a single mom, with no family to turn to or trust, shares her story of living paycheck-to-paycheck to just get by in a world that repeatedly stomps on poor people.
Have you ever heard anyone criticize a welfare recipient for "taking advantage of the system", or "taking government handouts" or "not contributing to society" or wait, this one makes me extra-cringey, "using my tax money for their benefit "??? Truth is, people say and think these critical things all the time.
Maid is an honest reminder that statements like those are problematic, also wildly unhelpful and unsupportive. And Stephanie Land is an honest writer in telling us why. As someone who has worked her ass off in a low-paying profession, Stephanie tells her stories of how trying to feed her daughter Mia a healthy, well-balanced diet using food stamps and WIC benefits was virtually impossible. They relied on Medicaid to help treat her daughter's health concerns. But her health concerns were exacerbated by the black mold lurking in their apartment, which was the only affordable living option Stephanie could find. Never mind that the doctors all told her how illegal it was of her landlord to allow those living conditions to exist. Stephanie couldn't afford to take legal action, and she couldn't afford to move out. She could never afford {fill in the blank} or {fill in another blank, and another...}. Alternately, if she got too good at her minimum-wage-paying job, and therefore took on more work, cleaning more client's homes, then she made too much money and didn't qualify for hundreds of dollars of government assistance that they needed to survive. She also had to consider the costs of childcare in taking on work. It's a vicious cycle Stephanie and Mia fought with, and lived through for years.
Their story enhanced my perspective, and gave me cause to reflect...
I appreciated how Stephanie recognized that as a white woman seeking government assistance, her opportunities were drastically different than those of her black, brown and disabled neighbors who were also seeking assistance.
And I loved how much she shared about motherhood. How her desire to protect and love her little girl shone through with the sacrifices she made.
This book gets all the stars from me. I can't wait to watch the series on Netflix that is based on Stephanie's book!
I recommend listening to this while doing your least favorite chores and silently repeating to yourself, "I am grateful for all these clothes we have." "I am grateful for the food that sat on these dishes." "I am grateful for running water, for my electricity, and for my heat." Because too many people don't have those luxuries.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
mscalls's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
3.0
With 15% of the US population receiving food stamps and 35% of the US population receiving some kind of government assistance, that period of Stephanie’s life is a life that many Americans are still living in.
This was a touching, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking tale of the flaws of America’s welfare system, the stigma that comes with being a part of that system and the personal hurtles that Land had to overcome both personally and financially.
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship