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About The Book

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick
A New York Times Most Anticipated Books of Fall

From the New York Times bestselling author who inspired the hit Netflix series about a struggling mother barely making ends meet as a housecleaner, a “raw and inspiring” (People) memoir about college, motherhood, poverty, and life after Maid.

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, he called it an “unflinching look at America’s class divide…and a reminder of the dignity of all work.” Later, it was adapted into the hit Netflix series Maid, which was viewed by sixty-seven 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, food insecurity, 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.

About The Author

Photograph © Erika Peterman
Stephanie Land

Stephanie Land is the author of Class and the New York Times bestseller Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, which inspired the Netflix series Maid and was called “a testimony…worth listening to” by The New York Times. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. Her writing focuses on social and economic justice and parenting under the poverty line. She is a frequent speaker at colleges and national advocacy organizations. Find out more at @Stepville or Stepville.com.

About The Reader

Photograph © Erika Peterman
Stephanie Land

Stephanie Land is the author of Class and the New York Times bestseller Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, which inspired the Netflix series Maid and was called “a testimony…worth listening to” by The New York Times. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. Her writing focuses on social and economic justice and parenting under the poverty line. She is a frequent speaker at colleges and national advocacy organizations. Find out more at @Stepville or Stepville.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (November 7, 2023)
  • Runtime: 8 hours and 31 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9781797164205

Raves and Reviews

"This deeply touching memoir sheds light on the seemingly insurmountable challenges encountered by impoverished people seeking better lives for themselves and their families. Fans of Maid and the Netflix series inspired by the book will want to listen to this."

– Susan Cox, Library Journal

"Stephanie Land, who wrote MAID, had a laser-focused goal to succeed as a writer, and this memoir proves that in spades. Her presentation of her life, which included an abusive husband, an unpredictable father to her daughter, and financial challenges, would send anyone over the edge. It all got her down, but she never gave up. Land’s exacting words and notable phrasing immerse listeners in a story of poverty, including the sacrifices she made to graduate from college and then get a Master of Fine Arts so she could write for a living. She concludes with an epilogue explaining her current successes. Fans of her previous work will be drawn to this memoir for its honesty, integrity, and candor."

– AudioFile Magazine

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