The popular Netflix series ‘Maid’ is based on the actual story of this single mom
Itâs a reality that most of us know but donât talk about enough.
The series opens with Alex, played by Margaret Qualley, staring at his boyfriend while theyâre in bed. Then she gets up and walks through the kitchen, quietly making her way through a maze of broken glass on the floor.
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She then gets her daughter and they both drive to a road leading nowhere in particular. She has just escaped an abusive relationship. And now, with her daughter in her arms, sheâs homeless, jobless, and has nowhere else to run.
This is the mini-series âMaidâ, and it was based on a true story.
The series which was streamed on Netflix enjoyed a positive reception all over the world. It tells the story of âAlexâ and how she dug her way out of poverty. Her journey showed how difficult it was to be poor, especially when the system contributes to the trap.
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Besides the emotional abuse she suffered from her partner, the lead was also desperate for support. She wanted to make ends meet but the system employs a Catch-22 maze of red tape and bureaucracy that pushes her deeper into the cycle of poverty.
The series was based on Stephanie Landâs memoir
Through âMaid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Motherâs Will to Surviveâ, Land shows us the glaring disparity between the lifestyles of the rich and the poor. Her clientsâ lavish lifestyle surrounded her seemingly invisible existence where every moment is the difference between starving and surviving.
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The book takes snapshots of her years between her 20âs and 30â where different realities converge. It painted a portrait of a survivor of domestic abuse, precarious economic situations, homelessness, and her struggles as a single mom.
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Her book made it to The New York Times non-fiction best-seller list and made it into the book clubs of people like President Barack Obama. It was then turned into a television adaptation titled âMaidâ.
Land shared that she did it all for her daughter.
âHowever temporary, I had done my best to make the cabin a home for my daughter,â Land wrote in her memoir. âIâd placed a yellow sheet over the love seat not only to warm the looming white walls and gray floors but to offer something bright and cheerful during a dark time.â
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Through those years, there were yards between the ends she needs to meet. Sometimes, even buying a $2 sponge needs a careful decision. Her first “big paycheck” came when her essay about her life as a maid was published. An agent from New York asked her if she has a book on the works to which she lied and said “yes”. 11 months later, she got a book deal.
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“After that, every time I pitched an editor and included a link to that essay, they said, “‘Oh my goodness, youâre the woman behind the house-cleaning essay!'”, she said to Vox, “My freelancing career really took off after that.”
While her book and the series were received in great success, Land said that her work is far from done.
Land has been traveling across the United States to use her voice in exposing the reality of pursuing the elusive myth of The American Dream while being dragged down by the rigid and often contradictory standards of the poverty line.
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âDomestic work in the service industry is the backbone of our society, and what makes all other work possible,” she told TODAY. “And so we’re asking all these people to support us, and we’re not supporting them.”
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Sheâs currently working on her second book titled âClassâ where sheâll dive into the inaccessibility of higher education for those who are living in poverty.
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Source: Instagram – @stepville, Vox, The Guardian, TODAY, CNN