When the couple met and married he worked at KOLD, they divorced in 2006. Like in the show, Land's boyfriend, whose name in the memoir is Jamie, was upset with her decision to keep the baby. All the nudity of porn, but with the plot and storylines of mainstream film. It's also because we assign dignity to the type of jobs people do. There were a lot of memes going around at the time about how people should be drug-tested for welfare, and a lot of my friends would post on Facebook and social media some type of hatred for people on food stamps. They were mentioned very briefly in a sentence in the book, but when I got to hang out with the creators, they all came to Washington and did the "Trauma tour." Its worth listening to. The "show don't tell" type of writing I guess. Eventually, the price for an hour of cleaning went up to $25 per hour.After being with the cleaning agency for two years, Land's salary had gone up to $9.25 an hour. Even though this kind of information could be crucial for viewers in similar circumstances, we don't really get to see Alex fight for different benefits regarding her education onscreen. 02:07 - Source: CNN. Similar to what Alex (Margaret Qualley) experiences in the TV series, the true story behind Maid on Netflix confirms that Stephanie Land's relationship with the father of her daughter had become emotionally abusive. Out of desperation, I asked him to go back to work, to give me some space, and he told me that wasnt part of the deal in marrying me. Land leaves readers with a poignant and powerful closing image: that of her and Story walking up a Montana peak to their new home. Stephanie then became Mrs. Grisham in 2004, after she and Todd Grisham tied the knot. She expanded her 2015Vox article, titled "I spent 2 years cleaning houses. In Alexs world, she isnt harassed every time she uses her EBT card (electronic benefit transfer card for SNAP/food stamps) at the grocery store; she isnt told, youre welcome by her closest friends when she confides in them about government assistant programs. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. They forget people aren't actually being paid a living wage. It seems she was struggling somewhat and planned to go back into freelancing. Tell me about the experience of watching your story come to life? In addition to student loans, she had paid for college with the help of Pell grants. Actress Margaret Qualley turned 26 during the filming of the Netflix Maid series. Based on the best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land, the series tells the story of. Land and her daughter stayed in one of the cabins for 90 days, the maximum that was allowed. And it was really incredible how close to my experience that was. And she worked as a nurse. Stephanie Land (born September 1978) is an American writer and public speaker. But now that the series is out, that's a lot of the focus. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. She documents her home life across her social media accounts. Someone told me they didn't like that Sean was a likable character and they had feelings or some kind of sympathy for him. Toggle Navigation. She was eventually able to quit the agency entirely. Sometimes, Id say, even though that wasnt true. Her mother, though not exactly "Mother of the Year" material, was the first in their family to go to college and earn a masters degree. For a couple of months, she woke up at night, crying and confused, wondering why her mom and stepdad werent there at the same time any more. I didnt want to let all the people who were so happy for me down. Maybe that made them too nervous about their situation.. When I was on food stamps, there were a lot of talks and memes and hatred on social media about how we need to drug test people on welfare. A post shared by Stephanie Land (@stepville) A photo posted by on She's now living in Missoula, Montana, and working on a new book. Land called the police for help three months after getting married. He hasnt lived with us in almost six months. "Five Takeaways from Stephanie Land's Memoir, https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=689611873, "She Used to Scrub Toilets for $9 an Hour. [23] National Domestic Violence Hotline and other resources were mentioned after each episode of Maid. This meant making characters who weren't heavily featured in the book, including her social worker and her boss, more integral to the story than they were in real life. [2] Land and her eldest daughter occasionally lived in homeless shelters, transitional housing and a camper in a driveway, before securing an apartment in low-income housing. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. I wish I would have, wish I could have, admitted that it was against my own better judgment as well. He called it an "unflinching look at America's class divide.". A Maid fact-check reveals that the real Stephanie Land was 28 when she was pregnant with her daughter Mia (today, Mia goes by her middle name, Story). Thats how you know theyre going to live happily ever after.. [7], In her late twenties, she lived in Port Townsend, Washington, where she had her first child and became a single mother who worked maid service jobs to support her family. There is strength in community. Stephanie Land: Going into publication, I thought people would be attracted to that story because it was a true story of a house cleaner. -NPR. Police officers photographed the bruises around her neck. (In one episode, a fellow resident at the battered women's shelter gives Alex and her daughter hundreds of left-over My Little Pony dolls. Before meeting Faust, Stephanie Land had rekindled an abusive relationship following the events of the series. And it really affected me for a really long time. Stephanie fell pregnant within just months of meeting her boyfriend Jamie. [30] She owns a home in Montana and has three dogs. The thing is, most of the people on safety net programs are working already and they're working two to three jobs just to feed their families. In researching the Maid true story, we discovered that the Netflix series was inspired by Stephanie Land's 2019 memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. But when I finally asked him to leave, it was in an almost primal push for survival. June 8, 2017 at 7:00 a.m. EDT (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Gift Article. Stocking up on junk and fast food is usually the quickest and cheapest option available for those in poverty, but it is common knowledge that healthier diets cost significantly more than unhealthy diets. The rest of Lands relatives and her relationships with them have been changed for TV as well. This meant that out of the 20 clients she had, she would clean two or three houses each day. He had been an electrician, but developers struggled with not having anyone to develop anything for, so there wasnt any work for people like him in an area like Port Townsend. In USA Today, Sharon Peters praised the book's honesty, writing that it fills the "with much candid detail about the frustrations with the limitations of programs she relied on. In the book, I didn't really talk up the emotional abuse because one, my kid was going to read. It no longer has time to sing, to stop and look at flowers, and talk to frogs. Yes. / CBS News. Through the last few months I have been questioning why I fought so hard to keep our life, on the outside, as normal as possible. Like Alex her fictionalized, onscreen counterpart Land left an abusive relationship and moved into a halfway house with her baby, Story, then just 9 months old. My whole life felt like a lie, but I was good at telling the story, even to me. She made a wish list through Walmart that she shared on social media, and boxes started showing up filled with pots, pans, clothes, and silverware. Through the divorce process, my friends have tried to offer some kind of comfort by telling me they know there is a man out there for me. The author says that memes began to circulate in 2008 comparing people on food stamps to wild animals. There was a part of me that knew why they were listening. In exchange for their listening ears, we fed them apples and sandwiches. But Poverty Never Left Me", Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, "The Brutal Economy of Cleaning Other People's Messes, for $9 an Hour", "Maid's Tell-All Reveals Dirty Secrets of America's Middle Class". Since the events of the book and show ended, Land has become a college graduate and best-selling author who owns a home in Missoula, Montana. Todd Grisham later worked as a professional wrestling . But after all that she had been through, Land desperately wanted to give back. While we see Alex in the show constantly putting on a brave face to her many clients and acquaintances, we don't see much of the reality, which is a lot of time completely alone. By Monday, when detectives knocked on my door for further questioning, they measured the circumference of my neck with a string. Even though Alex states, "I am on seven different forms of government assistance" in the show, they never go into too much detail about these programs. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. It costs a lot to be poor (in dollars and time). Author Stephanie Land's Official Website Stepville.com. This differs from the memoir, in which Stephanie Land describes her mother as living much farther away. I think we all deserve the same amount of dignity. I'm on the other side of things. She also had another daughter, who is seven, in addition to Storyknown as Mia in the book and Maddy in the shownow 14. Land said about the book, "When we think of economic insecurity we often think of the down and out. She started to volunteer as a receptionist at Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services and also became a client. [22] On October 24, 2021, Forbes reported that Maid has remained in the most viewed "Top 5 Shows" since its release in numerous countries. "I did in a couple," Land says of snooping in medicine cabinets. Claiming her daughter as a dependent on her taxes helped her get a government grant to pay for school. For viewers watching the miniseries during the wage shortage, the shows timely subject matter may force the question: Is Maid based on a true story? It was a short-lived marriage that had become physically violent. . Memes became extremely popular during this time (its weird to think of the internet without memes, but there was a before time), and a lot of people used social media (specifically Facebook) to spread hateful, racist, and classist rhetoric and disinformation. But the creators did such a fantastic job and I was so thrilled that it was something that I could proudly stand by and talk about. In 2021, we know all too well that our social safety nets are disappearing. Eventually, Land made too much money (let that sink in) to qualify for Medicaid, leaving only her daughter insured by the program. First published on October 29, 2021 / 5:23 PM. -Vox. Yes. Netflix's miniseries Maid was inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir called Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive; here's how it compares to the book.In the TV show, young mother Alex Russell (Margaret Qualley) flees in the night with her daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) from her abusive ex-boyfriend Sean Boyd (Nick Robinson). [8] During her studies, she published her first public writing in the form of blog posts and local publications[13] followed by Internet-based publications such as HuffPost[7] and Vox. They have a blended family consisting four children. ", Baseball legend Jackie Robinson's name misspelled as "Jakie" on road sign, Serena Williams honored at NAACP Image Awards, City, family reach $2 million settlement in Florida fatal police shooting, How these 3 hashtags from Black Twitter changed America. In that same conversation, almost a year after it happened, he still blamed our bad relationship on him hurting me. Its one womans story of inching out of the dirt and how the middle class turns a blind eye to the poverty lurking just a few rungs belowand its one worth reading. Both the show and the memoir depict the harsh realities that many Americans living in poverty face. A Pell Grant, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TBRA (HOME Tenant-Based Rental Assistance), LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), Medicaid, and a childcare government grant are all the programs that she and her daughter needed to barely survive and not starve. One year after that, her memoirMaid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mothers Will to Survivewas sold. Netflixs Maid is now streaming, and it could not have come at a better time. No. Then I Hired a Maid", "She has a bestseller and hit Netflix series. When the detectives measured a second time, 24 hours later, the swelling had increased a full half inch. She handled the potentially awkward moment with grace. This allows landlords to neglect the safety standards in order to keep Section 8 people away. The 2023 SAG Awards Will Be Streaming-Only For The First Time Ever, 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4 Has Added "A Trifecta Of Actor Greatness", Everything To Know About 'Outer Banks' Season 4, The 'Outer Banks' Season 3 Ending Sets Up A New Treasure-Hunting Adventure, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Before the Netflix series premiered, Land posted a long message on Instagram about her feelings about the release and the creative process. My. Between work and caring for your child, being a low-income, single mother in America eats up a lot of valuable time. We were alone for several months after that, the girls and me. He said he wouldnt have gotten together with me if he hadnt thought I was going to be rich so he wouldnt have to work. And that was the first time I cried watching the show. Netflix's latest hit drama, Maid, has become a favorite among fans for its candid and watchable depiction of a mother fighting to take care of her daughter.Based on Stephanie Land's 2019 memoir . I ran from that article, and even emailed the editor of the newspaper, begging her to remove it from their online archives. "one in particular, it just seemed like they were always sick. The Mountbatten-Windsors have been recastagain. He thought he'd never have to work again."This was the attitude of Stephanie Land, whose estranged husband has tried to prevent her from writing about him. Wealthy clients of hers would go on racist rants about Mexican families using food stamps and being dressed to the nines, while not realizing that the maid they were saying this to was also on government assistance. I assumed that people would pick up the book to read and purchase it because of that: "What's it like to be inside of other people's houses?" I stood in front of the judge to plead for my husband to move back in with us, so we could go on being a family. A post shared by Stephanie Land (@stepville) (opens in new tab). CBS News spoke with Land about how she wrote "Maid," the feelings of watching your life's story become a television show, and what people don't understand about welfare. Visit our corporate site. "Throughout this whole process of giving my story to the hands of strangers, I had to force myself to trust theyll do it justice. [11] Upon graduating from the University of Montana, Land ended her dependence on food stamps,[14] started working as a freelance writer, and became a writing fellow with the Center for Community Change. When she isnt writing or checking Twitter, shes probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car. He and his wife couldnt make ends meet in the economic collapse, leaving Land and her daughter without support. It ended up on the New York Times Best Seller List and Obama's 2019 Summer Reading List, in addition to being optioned for the Netflix series. She also owns her own house, and shares frequent snapshots of her life on social media (including several of the family's adorable dog Keats). They have. Land says that this fictionalization also allowed more diversity to be brought into the series.Though Maid is not a highly accurate representation of Land's own experience and the people involved, she described it in an Instagram post as "an obscenely authentic visual representation of what it's like to struggle to get by. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! She was also able to take out the maximum amount of student loans to make ends meet, which gave her more of a cushion, and eventually, helped her move to Missoula to attend the University of Montana. She lived in Europe with a husband who was much younger (he was only seven years older than Stephanie). [28][29] They both have two children from previous relationships. The reality is the way we go about educating our country leaves millions stretched to their limits, with almost of half of students wondering how theyll find their next meal and even more than that drowning in debts theyll owe for a lifetime.". She reaches up to dig her hand into my armpit, and I let her, because its something shes done practically since birth. This happens in the Netflix version more than once, between Alexs relationship with Nate, her budding friendship with Regina, and the hot-shot family lawyer who takes on Alex pro-bono. "I found pills for everything: pain, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, impotence, allergies, high blood pressure, diabetes." I think even though it's exhausting for me, I see an importance in my role in advocating. 69.163.234.236 Most of the authors relationships had faded because of the embarrassment and judgment of her daily life. They asked me, again, to describe what happened this time for a recorded statement and I physically shook, remembering the dark room, being pressed into the bed, and his face. But I dole out lessons in empathy as much as I can, [which is] not only my biggest challenge but my goal in being a parent. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. At the time, she had two kids she was taking care of by herself, as well as a shelter dog. This is different than what we see with Alex in Maid, where welfare is depicted as part of going through the motions, not as something deeply broken that is affecting millions of people. Spoilers for season 1 ofMaid. It even made former President Barack Obama's summer reading list in 2019. It was an unplanned pregnancy and she wasn't married to the baby's father. I really didn't think that people were going to listen to that or care about it because I had lived such an invisible life. In my New York Times bestselling memoir MAID, I tell my story of juggling several housecleaning clients while working my way through college as a single mother. People think that the janitor in the airport has less dignity than the pilot does and really the janitor is supporting that pilot and making that pilot's job possible. She graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor's in English and Creative Writing in 2014. Instead of learning to walk in a halfway house, as Story did, Maddy grows up in a subsidized apartment. Patterns of abuse can form quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks but it seems like the series implies that Alex and Sean have been together for quite a while. Yes, Stephanie is now happily married to her partner Tim Faust. One year later, she published an essay about working as a housekeeper inVox (opens in new tab), which went viral and led to her getting a book agent. My desire for that happy ending especially as a woman whod been a single mom for almost a decade was a rushing current too strong to fight. ", Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. I just constantly felt like someone was watching me, like, if I sat down and wasn't working for a few minutes, I felt like suddenly I had lost value as a human being because so much of my value and dignity was wrapped up in how many hours I could work. 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