Review By Gabrielle
Class is an intimate and mesmerizing memoir of a single mom’s journey to forge a better life for her small family.
Favourite Quote:
Resilience as a virtue is assigned, especially to marginalized groups, when systemic structures have created countless invisible barriers to living what the privileged consider a normal life. Every time I wanted to cry from the hopelessness that life seemed to bring, something inside me hissed you must not allow yourself to fall apart. At first I thought this signified bravery on my part, or that it meant that I was a good parent in that I didn’t want my kid to worry as much as I did about keeping us fed, clothed, and sheltered. Then I started to realize that I had no choice in the matter: I didn’t have the privilege to feel.
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Stephanie Land set out to write her memoir Maid, she never could have imagined what was to come. Handpicked by President Barack Obama as one of the best books of 2019, it was called “an eye-opening journey into the lives of the working poor” (People). Later it was adapted into the hit Netflix series Maid, which was viewed by 67 million households and was Netflix’s fourth most-watched show in 2021, garnering three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Stephanie’s escape out of poverty and abuse in search of a better life inspired millions.
Maid was a story about a housecleaner, but it was also a story about a woman with a dream. In Class, Land takes us with her as she finishes college and pursues her writing career. Facing barriers at every turn including a byzantine loan system, not having enough money for food, navigating the judgments of professors and fellow students who didn’t understand the demands of attending college while under the poverty line—Land finds a way to survive once again, finally graduating in her mid-thirties.
Class paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture? In clear, candid, and moving prose, Class grapples with these questions, offering a searing indictment of America’s educational system and an inspiring testimony of a mother’s triumph against all odds.
I was not part of the millions that read Stephanie’s debut memoir, or watched the resulting Netflix series. It was on my list, I just didn’t get around to it. I think because I knew how close to home some of the content would feel. When I heard about her new release, I knew it was time. I’m so glad I picked it up. While hard to read at times, Class is certainly worth it.
I love memoirs. Well, some memoirs. I don’t really have an interest in celebrity or famous people’s stories. I enjoy ones about “ordinary” people, living their lives. I’m always blown away by the authors of memoirs. To me, it takes a lot of courage to put your life and experience out there like that. Stephanie is no exception. Her raw honesty really struck me.
In Class, Stephanie challenges us to examine what we know about poverty and privilege through the lens of her experiences. She grinds up against the comfortable stories we tell ourselves about the social safety net and the way we treat people living under the poverty line. She makes us rethink our assumptions about grit, resilience, and determination, those hallmarks of success privileged people like to talk about.
Higher education is often touted as the way out of poverty, but we don’t always think through or even understand all the barriers we put in the way for folks living under the poverty line, or as single parents, to achieve that. Through Stephanie’s story, we get an active demonstration of all those barriers at work. While many of us take our degrees for granted, Stephanie reminds us of the true cost carried by many.
Yes, this book is heavy. You should be prepared to be heartbroken alongside Stephanie many times. You will be challenged in your assumptions and you will have to rethink some things you probably believe. For those of us with similar experiences to Stephanie’s, you will be reminded of times you may want to forget, and feel seen at the same time. But there are also moments of breathtaking beauty and hope.
Class is an absolute must read for anyone that loves memoirs, or wants to understand more about the systems that keep people poor. It’s going on my top reads of 2023.
Thank you, First One Signal Publishers/Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
