A journalist describes the years she worked in low-paying domestic work under wealthy employers, contrasting the privileges of the upper-middle class to the realities of the overworked laborers supporting them.
Contents
The cabin -- The camper -- Transitional housing -- The Fairgrounds apartment -- Seven different kinds of government assistance -- The farm -- The last job on earth -- The porn house -- The move-out clean -- Henry's house -- The studio -- Minimalist -- Wendy's house -- The plant house -- The chef's house -- Donna's house -- In three years -- The sad house -- Lori's house -- "I don't know how you do it" -- The clown house -- Still life with Mia -- Do better -- The bay house -- The hardest worker -- The hoarder house -- We're home.
Summary
Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, took classes online to earn a college degree. And she wrote relentlessly: true stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC coupons. Here she explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. -- adapted from jacket of regular print edition
