Order a copy of "Maid" with signed bookplate!

Bestselling author Stephanie Land will discuss Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and A Mother’s Will to Survive in a virtual conversation with Times reporter Paloma Esquivel.

Land had big plans: She’d leave her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to attend a university, then chase her dream to become a writer. But when a summer relationship turned into an unexpected pregnancy, she had to watch her daughter’s first steps in a homeless shelter, and she began cleaning houses so they could survive.

“In writing ‘Maid,’ I hoped the book would change the stigmas that surround single mothers, especially those living in poverty,” Land says. “The stigmas that say we somehow deserve hardship because of the terrible decisions we made to get us there. I hoped people would see how hard we work to make ends meet, and how fiercely we love our kids.”

Land’s story of resilience, recovery and dreams postponed but not ended is now a Netflix series.

Former President Barack Obama included “Maid” on his 2019 summer reading list. He described Land’s memoir as "a single mother's personal, unflinching look at America's class divide, a description of the tightrope many families walk just to get by, and a reminder of the dignity of all work."

Event Details

When: Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. PT

Where: This free virtual event will live stream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Links to watch will be provided the week of the event.

Book Club Special: Order now! Copies of “Maid” with autographed bookplates signed by Stephanie Land will be shipped by our bookselling partner, Skylight Books.

What would you like to ask the author? Send your comments and questions for Stephanie Land to bookclub@latimes.com.

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Image below: Margaret Qualley in a scene from Maid, the Netflix series inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir. Photo courtesy of Netflix.