Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education

 
　　半工半讀的單親媽媽史戴芬妮．蘭德嘗試寫下第一本書《我只想讓我女兒有個家：一個單親女傭的求生之路》時，沒有預料到這本回憶錄，將翻轉她的人生。她誠實記錄自己身為一位單親母親，單靠社會福利補助金，難以在貧困下獨力撫養孩子的窘境，兼差擔任鐘點女傭，是為了維持生計、不得不的選擇，她必須一邊照顧年幼的孩子，一邊設法完成大學學業以圓夢、脫貧，勾勒出底層生活的壓力、自卑、脆弱、矛盾、勇敢等真實樣貌，出版後一鳴驚人，不但登上紐約時報暢銷榜、成為美國前總統歐巴馬的推薦選書，在被Netflix改編成熱門影集《女傭浮生錄》後更引發熱議。
 
　　在新書《階級》中，作者進一步探討身為女性，在「為人母」和「做自己」間面臨的困頓掙扎，尤其是身為一位單親母親，飢餓和貧窮的焦慮揮之不去，精神壓力外，勞務所造成的生理疲累，自不在話下。作者自白：「美國人總有個迷思，認為只要努力就能成功。因此對我來說，一旦我沒成功，彷彿就代表我還不夠努力。」那些未曾經歷過底層生活的教授和同學，難以想像處在貧窮線以下的她，經常因食物、貸款和補助而煩惱；難以了解在窮困的環境下，冀望完成大學學業所承受的龐大壓力。
 
　　《階級》坦誠描繪生活中存在的各種衝突、身為人母的困境、貧窮的絕望，這部作品向眾人發出重要的提問：這個社會尊重或漠視哪些工作？誰有權利上大學？教育制度是否有助實現社會正義？《階級》犀利直指美國教育體制的缺陷，同時展現了一位母親逆境求生的韌性。(文/博客來編譯)

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.

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.