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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
I felt like this was an informative memoir. The author shares her experience as a single mom who escaped an abusive relationship--dreams of being a writer. Going to school for it while working (cleaning houses) and struggling to house and feed her and her young daughter, with very little support, and lots of stigma...more so, when she was facing another unplanned pregnancy. We’re always told ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps”, get two or three jobs if you have to. Have that baby! At the same time, we are demonized and stigmatized for every choice we make…even when it’s when the ones made for us. Make it make sense! I’m glad everything sorted out for the author and I’m looking forward to reading her other memoir, ‘Maid’.
Things to take from this book: don’t judge anyone—you don’t know what they are going through…it could be you. Big one: we urgently need policy changes and social safety nets in this country, because this ain’t it.
Things to take from this book: don’t judge anyone—you don’t know what they are going through…it could be you. Big one: we urgently need policy changes and social safety nets in this country, because this ain’t it.
informative
inspiring
reflective
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion
Moderate: Emotional abuse
reflective
fast-paced
A follow up to Maid, this memoir of Land’s was a little less cohesive and poignant. Still, it’s a very readable, vulnerable personal account of poverty, particularly as it relates to single-parenting and access to higher education. Like Land’s previous book, I wanted more structural analysis and research, but Land is very adamant in interviews that she’s not that kind of writer. There were definitely portions of the book that felt rambly and lacked depth. But in the end, I kinda like that she just does her own thing unapologetically.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
[a:Stephanie Land|3082027|Stephanie Land|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a great storyteller. Her writing really makes you feel as if you're watching her life play out (maybe this is because [b:Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive|39218350|Maid Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive|Stephanie Land|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573822660l/39218350._SY75_.jpg|60800466] was made into a show, but it read super visually nonetheless).
I went into this knowing sophomore memoirs are extremely challenging for authors, especially when your first one because a hit Netflix show. While Maid was extremely impactful as an examination of poverty and single motherhood, Class follows Stephanie through her final year of college as she struggles to balance finishing her education, raising her daughter, and becoming pregnant with her second child (all while continuing to live under the poverty line). I didn’t find this book nearly as compelling or informative as Maid, which was truly eye opening for me in several ways. Class, on the other hand, felt like simply following along her life story, without much insight or self-reflection. I struggled to empathize with Stephanie throughout this book in comparison to my feelings toward her throughout Maid. Some of her decisions made me uncomfortable, and I often thought to myself about how I would've done things differently. This is so silly because I am acutely aware that I come from a place of privilege and will never be able to fully put myself into her circumstances. I will also add that I think being uncomfortable with her circumstances is part of the goal, and it is important to look poverty in the face in this way.
Another reviewer put this more eloquently: "It’s important, I think, for readers to ask themselves why they would judge her choices. Poverty doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to make messy romantic choices. It doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to go to college or get a nice haircut. And so I also admired how this book will serve as quite the mirror for the inherent biases many people hold about who can do what and why."
I went into this knowing sophomore memoirs are extremely challenging for authors, especially when your first one because a hit Netflix show. While Maid was extremely impactful as an examination of poverty and single motherhood, Class follows Stephanie through her final year of college as she struggles to balance finishing her education, raising her daughter, and becoming pregnant with her second child (all while continuing to live under the poverty line). I didn’t find this book nearly as compelling or informative as Maid, which was truly eye opening for me in several ways. Class, on the other hand, felt like simply following along her life story, without much insight or self-reflection. I struggled to empathize with Stephanie throughout this book in comparison to my feelings toward her throughout Maid. Some of her decisions made me uncomfortable, and I often thought to myself about how I would've done things differently. This is so silly because I am acutely aware that I come from a place of privilege and will never be able to fully put myself into her circumstances. I will also add that I think being uncomfortable with her circumstances is part of the goal, and it is important to look poverty in the face in this way.
Another reviewer put this more eloquently: "It’s important, I think, for readers to ask themselves why they would judge her choices. Poverty doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to make messy romantic choices. It doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to go to college or get a nice haircut. And so I also admired how this book will serve as quite the mirror for the inherent biases many people hold about who can do what and why."
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced