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bookwormmichelle 's review for:
Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education
by Stephanie Land
OK. This is why reading a wide variety of voices is important. THIS is why we do it.
And why particularly this book?
Well, this book is not always easy to read. I will confess that there are times I wanted to yell at the author. Stop buying alcohol if you don't have food. If you want hookups, but don't want to get pregnant, and have problems with birth control, well then, tell the guy the price of admission is a condom. Simple. Right? Even though I did not grow up with much money and at times not a ton of stability, I "made" it, made good choices, am now middle class, so I know, right?
Except I don't. I know MY lived experience. But I needed to hear Land's. What did poverty feel like to her? Single parenthood? The lingering trauma of her unsteady childhood, perpetual financial insecurity, domestic abuse, and personal circumstances comes through in this memoir, in such a powerful way that by the end I see how wrong I was to judge her choices earlier. And since Land's writing helps me to see that in relation to HER, I can also use that in my life. This is the story of an intelligent woman given loads of crap from life and trying to make something beautiful anyway, for herself and her daughters. Her experiences and emotions are hers, and her courage and skill in expressing that makes this a valuable book.
And why particularly this book?
Well, this book is not always easy to read. I will confess that there are times I wanted to yell at the author. Stop buying alcohol if you don't have food. If you want hookups, but don't want to get pregnant, and have problems with birth control, well then, tell the guy the price of admission is a condom. Simple. Right? Even though I did not grow up with much money and at times not a ton of stability, I "made" it, made good choices, am now middle class, so I know, right?
Except I don't. I know MY lived experience. But I needed to hear Land's. What did poverty feel like to her? Single parenthood? The lingering trauma of her unsteady childhood, perpetual financial insecurity, domestic abuse, and personal circumstances comes through in this memoir, in such a powerful way that by the end I see how wrong I was to judge her choices earlier. And since Land's writing helps me to see that in relation to HER, I can also use that in my life. This is the story of an intelligent woman given loads of crap from life and trying to make something beautiful anyway, for herself and her daughters. Her experiences and emotions are hers, and her courage and skill in expressing that makes this a valuable book.