Class by Stephanie Land

CLASS by Stephanie Land (Maid) is subtitled “A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education.” It's an eye-opening non-fiction work that describes the difficulties of attending college as a single mom. Land relates her own experiences while also exploring social justice issues like food and housing insecurity, pointing out: “The fight to make rent, eat, and find childcare was constant. I never got a break from it.” Her struggles and loneliness will elicit empathy from readers while also encouraging them to think about questions such as “Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture?” For a preview of her writing style, see the Op-Ed piece in The New York Times. There she weaves in statistics like “23 percent of undergraduate students and 12 percent of graduate students face food insecurity” while also relating a harrowing after school experience for her young daughter. CLASS received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and is a LibraryReads selection for November. Land says that she shares these stories in order to let people know their feelings are valid: that life does indeed feel impossible at times. If you are interested in hearing more, Land will be speaking at an upcoming Family Action Network event on November 13 at 7:00pm. Access is available via Zoom.