Class is an outstanding follow-up to Stephanie Land's previous memoir, Maid, which detailed the struggles she had keeping herself and her child housed and fed and clothed while working for sub-minimum wage as a housecleaner. In Class, we follow Stephanie and her daughter as they move to Missoula so that Stephanie can pursue a college degree. At the time Stephanie made this choice to get an education, having a college degree was lauded as the surest pathway to finding the kind of work that could haul her and her daughter out of poverty. It's an unvarnished look at some of the difficulties faced by the working poor, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have read it.

Stephanie Land is a spectacular new author to watch. Her debut, "Maid" about her years cleaning other peoples' houses, removing herself from an abusive relationship, and finally fleeing to another location with her beloved daughter Emilia was made into a movie. She writes frankly and yet emotionally about living below the poverty line. We get a true sense of the day-to-day struggles of a single mom who literally does not know where her next meal is coming from. She believes she is a writer and is determined to go to school, but is caught up in the hamster wheel of working and needing all income to go towards surviving.

In her follow up to "Maid", "Class" is about her attending college in pursuit of an education as a writer, and an expose of the denigration and attitudes privileged people have towards the poor, those who are in need of financial assistance, and the soul-crushing hoops they need to run through to get even a fair shake at what middle class people take for granted. Writing in her conversational yet and forthright style, we are there as she juggles motherhood to a 6 year old daughter, complete complicated school assignments, deal with lawyers regarding her abusive ex. The fact that she finishes school and doesn't have a major breakdown boggles the mind.

Reading these books by Ms. Land is eye-opening as far as appreciating what the marginalized, invisible population endures daily. I recommend both books to get a true picture of what really is going on in the land of the American Dream.

Lets agree that we are not to judge another’s actions, especially as few of us have never been impulsive, mislead, needy, ignorant, or just plain stupid enough to have committed an act we would rather not anyone know about. And, if you did not come from a family that moved on with no care for you, and were abused, and faced hunger, and wondered where you would sleep at night, you can’t pass judgement on those who have.

If you ever had a dream of a better life, and sought to have motherhood and education and a better future, if you ever were lonely, hungry, scared, and depressed, if you have loved a child, if you stretched yourself so thin you were desperate for any affection, even a passing encounter, then you will understand.

I was a huge fan of Stephanie Land’s memoir Maid. Her new memoir takes up her story at university, much older than the other students, and hoping to go on to earn an MFA and fulfill her childhood dream of writing. While in school she must also work and care for her daughter.

If writing requires ruthlessness, Land is ruthless in exposing herself in this memoir. Nothing is held back. She shares her emotional rollercoaster as she struggles to meet her needs and her daughter’s needs, and the university’s demands, and the requirements set by law to receive child support from her daughter’s father, and loans for school, and governmental assistance programs.

And the assistant programs are not set up to help the needy but to cull out everyone possible. With the end of welfare, the system discourages higher education by requiring recipients to work.

Land never felt entitled. In fact, she felt guilty for choosing to get an education when she could be working. But we have been told that an education is the pathway to wealth and security. Land believed in that dream. Sadly, the system is not set up to support her.

Land was in her thirties while at school. She had friends with benefits, but no one who was willing to be involved with a woman with a child. When she became pregnant during her senior year, she wanted to have the baby, believing it to be her last chance. It is heartbreaking to read of her food insecurity while pregnant.

It was hard to put this book down. Land’s brutal honesty drew me in as she shared dreams, her needs, her love for her child and revealed the challenges of poverty in America.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

In Maid, Stephanie Land chronicled her experiences being an underpaid housecleaner while trying to raise a child and go to college. Her struggles continue in Class. She relentlessly fights for adequate child support, decent housing, childcare, and enough food while attending college as a full-time student. She is a prisoner in a system that seems designed to keep her poor.

Stepanie's writing immediately pulled me into her story, and I could not put this book down. Her grit and determination read like fiction. Thank you, Atria Books and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Class" is a memoir that shares the experiences of author Stephanie Land as a struggling single mother living in poverty. It is a follow up to the New York Times bestseller “Maid,” which became a limited series on Netflix. While this new memoir does shed light on the challenges faced by many women in similar situations, it is hard to fully empathize with Land due to the choices she makes throughout the book.
Throughout "Class," the author repeatedly finds herself in difficult situations, often as a result of impulsive decisions and a lack of long-term planning. Her willingness to engage in risky behaviors, like accepting rides from strangers or dating men who offer little stability, raises questions about her judgment and priorities. It is very hard to feel sympathy for someone whose choices continuously seem to compound her struggles, rather than making her life better.
I often found the narrative self-indulgent and lacking in self-awareness. It felt like the author downplayed her own agency in the circumstances of her life, often choosing to blame her hardships on external forces instead of acknowledging her own role in shaping her fate. This lack of introspection made it difficult for me to fully connect with her and her story.
While the memoir does help readers learn more about the issues and inequalities that people face when living in poverty, the author’s own bad choices overshadow the broader social commentary. I found myself questioning whether the vast amounts of empathy she has been given for her situation is actually warranted, given what seems to be her failure to learn from her mistakes, or to take more proactive steps to improve life for herself and her daughter.

Stephanie Land returns with a much-anticipated sequel to her best-selling, Netflix-show inspiring memoir on single motherhood below the poverty line. In Class , we follow Stephanie after the ‘happily-ever-after’ of her college acceptance and escape from an abusive relationship and house-cleaning job.

This memoir portrays Stephanie’s struggle as a single mom living off/drowning under student loans, fighting for custody and financial and emotional support, balancing classes and part-time shifts alongside personal relationships and an unforeseen change in both academic and family planning. While it can be tempting to judge some of her life decisions, Stephanie Land offers a brutally honest and unfiltered perspective on both the difficulties and the double-edged sword of trying to stay afloat in poverty and attempting to pursue a brighter future.

Just as important as her first memoir, Class sheds light on the privilege and purpose of a college degree in the United States, the predatory nature of student loans, the unjust prejudice that exists for single mothers versus fathers, and the many invisible barriers between socioeconomic classes.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader’s Copy of the memoir in exchange for my honest review.

I started this book 2 days ago and could not put it down. Stephanie Land’s writing style is immediate and personal, which draws the reader in to the realities of her situation, but it is also unflinchingly honest, which means we hear about the good days and bad days, the pain and hunger, the occasional successes, but more heartbreaking struggles. I know that many readers will question some of her choices, starting with her choice to move to Missoula to get a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, and moving through difficult relationships, sex with various men (one episode of which left her pregnant with a baby she chose to have), while finishing her senior year and continuing to negotiate child support payments from an abusive ex. Personally, I don’t feel I have the right to judge. I know what it’s like to live off a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter for a month while pursuing a degree in a creative field, and how easy it is to fall into questionable relationships because you need human contact so badly.

Of course, we know now that getting that degree was worth it, because Stephanie Land is not only an incredible writer, she is an incredibly successful one, with one bestseller, a popular Netflix adaptation, and an active speaking schedule . I hope this book will be equally successful- not just because Land deserves to have a life with everything she and her children need and want, she also exposes all of us to hardships that most of us don’t acknowledge in today’s America. This may be at times a hard book to read, but it is something that all of us need to learn from.

One more word from my personal experience as a college professor: it’s important for all of us to know that the system is rigged against poor people, and especially the working poor. Classes are held on schedules convenient to the college, not the student (although these days with a variety of online options, there are more options). College scholarships are much rarer than when I was in school, government has all but gotten out of the education business, and the student loan situation is an unbelievable scam (read up if you’re not familiar). Everything extra costs money including textbooks (some students pay several hundred dollars per semester), student activities, child care (some colleges have subsidized centers, but not many), and even parking. Land describes that her graduate school admissions exam cost $600. My personal take is that today’s college costs and logistics virtually ensure that only wealthy people will be able to finish (at least without massive debt), which perpetuates inequality in our systems. Kudos to Land for making it through and having the strength to tell us about it.

Many thanks to Atria Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this ARC. As a follow up to her book Maid, Stephanie outlines her life and struggles during her senior year of college. Still a single mom, she was starving but determined. Class meaning, school and also class meaning the levels for wealth in our world. This book wasn't as eyeopening as her first but was I was still shocked to see just how broken the system continues to be for struggling, single moms. Though she made some questionable decisions (who hasn't), she was determined to graduate and create a life with and for her daughter. The way Stephanie writes makes it so very easy to read. #Class #StephanieLand #Atriabooks #Nov2023

I was curious how Land would follow up her debut, Maid, which was a bookstagram darling when it came out in 2019. I admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of that book because I did not like Land's victimhood mentality or her whiny voice. Sadly, this book was an extension of both of those things. For whatever reason, Land has a tendancy to come across as immature and does not trigger my sypathetic feelings at all.

In this extension of her story, Land is now a 35-year-old woman with a child who moves to Montana to get her BA in English. Throughout the book, she relays the challenges and complications that go along with single parenting, low income, and juggling work with a school schedule. All of those things are valid issues and I wanted to root for her. But overwhelmingly, some of her hardships came from her terrible decision making.

I would have liked more commentary on her thesis - Class - but there isn't much here regarding that topic. Many of Land's personal choices make her life what it is - this book relays those choices, but doesn't really add anything to a conversation about Class in America. I found that alone to be a disappointment for my overall feelings towards the book.

A minor, but constant, complaint of hers is how tired she is being a single parent. But then in the next sentence she whines about wanting a babysitter so she can go out and party. The woman is 35 years old...and being nearly the same age, I was just confused as to why partying is still so important to her. I also cringed at how freely she would leave her daughter with literally anyone...as long as she could get her break to go to a party. She didn't vet these people - just dumped her kid on them and hoped for the best!

I don't want to discount the trials Land goes through. I think her situation would be very hard, but the way she relays her story just doesn't translate on paper. She's irritating in her decisions and priorities and doesn't seem capable of making good choices.

Her debut story, Maid, was made into a Netflix series which was EXCELLENT! It was this series that made me decide to give her a second chance, but after reading Class, I think I can safely say Land isn't an author for me.

I loved this memoir just as much as I loved the author's previous memoir, Maid. She really shows the systemic problems she faced while trying to navigate her education and career. Highly recommend!

Stephanie Land is an excellent writer. Her story is a powerful one and an important one, my biggest complaint about her writing is that I would like to see more of it more often!

I've read other reviews of Class and I considered them while I read this book and I think so many of the struggles she talks about related to her experience as a person doing domestic labor, experiencing the brutality of American poverty especially as a woman and young mother, and as a parenting student put classist readers on edge because it challenges how they view poverty and their role and relationship to it in our society. Land's voice and story are so important and she is frank and honest about her experiences and the reality that even at moments of profound suffering, pressure, and stress as a white woman she still experienced the privilege and protection and positive regard of whiteness in this country. One of the things that both Maid and Class capture so beautifully is the powerful love of a mother and the relentless demands of it as a poor and/or single parent. I am looking forward to sharing this book with friends and family and hope to see more from Land in the future. She is a tremendous storyteller.

*Will post social media and Goodreads reviews closer to publishing date.

Brimming with emotional resonance, Land's candid narrative detailing her experiences as a young single mother kept me up all night. I was unable to set the book aside. This memoir serves as a crucial critique of our outdated governmental structures and their shortcomings in supporting hard working and dedicated parents. It's a bittersweet celebration of the never-ending efforts undertaken by countless single parents (often without acknowledgment), and a sign of hope for parents/guardians who find themselves in similar situations.

Class is Stephanie Land’s follow up to her debut memoir, Maid. Stephanie is a single mother that has just moved to Missoula, Montana in the hopes of completing her BA and getting into an MFA program at the same school.

Like her last book, Stephanie continues to detail the tedious beauracracy of the court system and assistance programs. She explains the many hurdles in trying to further her education and improve her circumstances with piecemeal support from those around her.

The personal choices Land makes may be hard for some to reconcile, but it’s not for those with more privilege and resources to judge. I liked her honesty and how it made me confront my own initial feelings.

This is a straightforward, thought-provoking work filled with one woman’s love for her family and her craft.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Having been deeply affected by Maid, Land's first memoir, I eagerly anticipated this one. It was a comfort to be back with Land to make sure she is succeeding in a world intent on pushing back. Class takes us through Land's senior year of college (which she is in her mid-thirties) and the tribulations of uncaring adjudicators, dismissive profs, nasty ex's, unexpected developments and as always, little support. When a very minor but unexpected cash windfall means Land and her daughter can go to the grocery store to get whatever they want, Land's daughter's wish is for strawberries - a stark reminder that something as simple and necessary as fresh fruit remains out of reach for many hard working North Americans. Land's second memoir is raw, honest and important. Thanks to Atria /One Signal Publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Excellent follow up to Maid! Land’s detailing of the systems in the US that keep the poor poor while shaming them for it is something everyone needs to be aware of.

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of Class. Although I hadn't had a chance to read her previous memoir, Maid, I had watched Stephanie Land's story play out in the Netflix series.

I typically don't rate or review memoirs because it's someone's life story. If I do, I'll usually speak to the writing or execution of their story and avoid the actual content. Although the writing was strong, which is good considering she studies writing, I had a hard time with the actual content of the book. Land had many factors working against her and I cannot deny that she had some major challenges to overcome. Still, I struggled to empathize with her decision-making, whether it was her relationships with men, or leaving her child with people she barely knew, it was hard to root for her.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for an ARC of Class in exchange for my honest review.

Writing a review of a memoir always feels strange to me because no matter which way you spin it, you are essentially writing a review of someone's life. So I will tread carefully here! Another disclaimer -- I have not read or watched "Maid." I know, I know.

The good: Land's writing style is fantastic. I love her conversational, but still structured tone. "Class" was paced perfectly and it held my attention the whole way through. Land frequently talks about the word and concept of being relentless, and she certainly proves herself as that - and then some! The word I kept coming back to though was tenacious. I admire her ability to turn her story into something tangible and real, something marketable and profitable. I also deeply admire her total tenacity to just be. a. writer. If we could all be so brave!

The reason for the 4 and not 5 star review: again, it feels just plain icky to review memoirs sometimes, but I frequently found myself struggling to understand some of Land's decisions, and therefore the story fell a little flat for me. Some of the chapters (essays?) felt repetitive, consistently going through the arc of, "this sucks, everything is unfair, this is my life so I just have to get over it" rinse and repeat. But if that's her life and story...see "the good" above.

All in all, I enjoyed this and it certainly gave me a lot of food for thought about my own privilege.

Remember Maid? A great Netflix show, and a great book (picked by President Barack Obama as one of the best books of 2019),
In Class, Stephanie continues the story of herself - the housecleaner where she last left off, on her way to college.

A very hard and intense read, Class includes a chronology of Stephanie's experiences as well as provides
insight and critique on the treatment of the under-resourced in the United States

At times, it's hard to reconcile with her choices romantically, but you cannot help but root for Stephanie as she raised her daughter, navigates the bureaucracy and tries to complete her college degree against all the odds.
This is a great story to share with others, discuss in book groups and I certainly look forward to see it on Netflix!
#Atria #Class #StephanieLand

I have a strong suspicion that many readers who loved MAID will have a much harder time with CLASS. Whereas in her first memoir, Land presents herself as someone working at all hours to scrape enough cash together to live, in CLASS, Land is fed up with the myth of resilience: instead, she prioritizes her own edification and her own pleasure, while providing for her daughter. I suspect that for a certain brand of reader, Land's likability takes a hit in this second memoir: she swears, she has sex, and she wants desperately to be able to receive the education she deserves. ('Deserves' might rankle those same readers...) Here, Land is defiant and dares to assert that she is entitled to pursuing her dreams and that it's, frankly, bullshit to say that she only deserves assistance if she's working herself ragged and making herself and her family as small and needless as possible. I respect the hell out of Land for her choices in structuring this memoir, and I wonder how much of what she chose to include here was a reaction to years of touring bookstores and libraries, presenting her story to the same sort of women who would've wrinkled their noses at her when she was a single mom looking for work.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OMG, can Stephanie write or what?!! Another beautifully- written, heart string tugging memoir by the same author that gave us "Maids". Her writing is so captivating and touching, my heart was aching after I read this book.

Stephanie, you've really found your calling, you're born to be an author, and please don't stop sharing your story. I cannot wait to read what's in the next chapters of your life.