Perhaps it is its overtones of realism, or perhaps its hopeful and self-improvement message that caught us almost immediately from the series that has remained in the netflix top 10 for several days: Maid.
In ten episodes, we can see the steep alex traila single mother who must clean houses while fleeing a troubled past in order to be able torise from homelessness and give her daughter Maddy a better quality of life.
However, Alex’s story not only takes place behind the screens of the streaming giant, in real life Alex is Stephanie Land, 43 years old and is the person whose story inspired the series.
His story managed to reach Netflix screens and position himself in its top 10 most viewed series thanks to its ability to touch the hearts of each of its viewers, telling a story that represents the reality of many peopleHowever, this phenomenon is not unprecedented for Netflix, Stephanie turned her experiences on paper and on a personal blog. Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Willa book he published in 2019 was a complete success, as were his personal writings on various online sites.
A start away from home
Stephanie grew up between Washington and Anchorage, Alaska, he came from a middle-class home where he had an unpleasant relationship with his father. After a car accident at age 16 suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder that would mark his life forever.
After a brief and intense relationship with a man who would later leave her alone the had his first daughter, the one that accompanies the character of Alex who plays her in the series. Fate and the need to flee in search of a better life would take her away from her hometown and I would take her to clean houses as a means of subsistence for her and her baby.
domestic worker
The economic crisis that the United States went through in 2008 complicated her trip even more, which led her to work for several years as a domestic worker to get out of her terrible economic situation.
He charged nine dollars an hour (the lowest salary you could receive for that job at the time) and did not have any type of employment benefit or protectionincluding vacations or personal emergencies.
Nevertheless, the journey does not end thereduring the time that he cleaned houses he had to fix them living in low-income women’s shelters, In addition, he had to resort to several social assistance programs to be able to cover all your needs and expenses.
Every house I cleaned was different, in them he lived and saw everything, in a writing that Stephanie did for Vox, he commented that, among its peculiarities was that I gave names to the homes in which I worked
Hilariously and a little nostalgically, Stephanie remembers the “Sad House” to which it really wasn’t much since the owner spent too much time in the hospital, so the house was kept totally clean, except for the dust that was deposited on the kitchen counters and the dining room table. The owner’s wife had passed away some years ago, and the sad house was kept just as she had left it including a to-do list pinned to the cork board by the kitchen.
Being completely honest, Stephanie says that she did not get too involved with her clients and that in general her job turned out to be pretty lonelyhowever, admits how much she learned from them, and how grateful she became, like the time her Christmas bonus was $100, the highest she had ever seen.
Finally a writer!
After six years of working as a domestic workerwas finally able to use student loans and scholarships to be able to move and graduate as BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Montana.
During his student period, published his first texts as blogs and local publications. Time passed and already graduated from the University of Montana became independent of coupons and economic aidsince she finally started working as a freelance writer and became a contributing writer for the Center for Community Change.
When referring to her book, the one that today is on the list of the most watched series on Netflix, Stephanie maintains that her work represents a strong bond with her daughtera medium where she immortalized the moments in which she felt more connected to her daughter even in such difficult circumstances.
“Everything around us was chaotic and busy. I wanted to record those moments with her because they were beautiful and on my mind and because I knew they would get lost in the hustle and bustle of our lives. And that turned out to be true,” he commented in a note.
Finally after another writing fellowship with the Center for Community Change managed to establish his new profession. She is currently married to Tim Faust and his family grew considerably, includes four children and two dogs.
After a long road, Stephanie Land recounts how arduous and difficult her path was until she could be comfortably with her family, and although she feels full and grateful, the fear of poverty remains.
“I still struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. I don’t think there is a true cure for PTSD. I have had PTSD since I was in a car accident when I was 16 years old. A lot of things that I went through during that time perpetuated it and left it untreated,” he commented.
Luckily, as your life has moved on and settled in a stable and prosperous direction as a result of your efforts, his attacks have decreased considerably. Stephanie Land reflects on how the US government should help end poverty, commenting:
“The only way to help a huge population is to make child care more affordable, pay workers a higher minimum wage, and create a semi-affordable environment for people.”
An inspiring story that leads us to consider the value of effort, perseverance and hard work.
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