MISSOULA — Western Montana first heard the name Stephanie Land when the New York Times Best Selling Author moved to Missoula.
We’ve covered Land’s journey -- interviews as she wrote her first book, and interviews when that book received critical acclaim.
Now, the epilogue to Land’s first writing success comes this Friday when the TV adaptation of her memoir airs on Netflix.
It wasn’t long ago that Land might have been pining for a good tip after a routine house cleaning, but things look different now.
“My favorite thing, currently, is being able to tip like 40 or 50%, and I like to leave a tip big enough that their co-workers are going to hear about it. That's my goal,” Land said.
But getting to this point took everything Land had, which she chronicles in her debut book: Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive.
You may think you know what poverty looks like, but in her book, Land takes the reader along as she walks away from an abusive relationship, scrubs grimy toilets for minimum wage, and watches her toddler learn to walk inside the walls of a homeless shelter.
Stephanie Land’s story is not romanticized, and that’s the point.
“I call it a gut punch you know like Upton Sinclair, where he, he wrote about the meatpacking industry but he got everybody in the stomach, and I wanted to do that with the social justice part of it, and, and talking about how broken the system is and how hard it is to just make ends meet when you're trying to survive and work on minimum wage.” - Author Stephanie Land
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive hit the shelves in January of 2019, but these pages will soon come to life as a new Netflix series.
Turning the book into a binge-worthy show are names you’ve probably heard before -- actress Margot Robbie and John Wells, the executive producer of Shameless.
Also, a few of the stars have ties to Missoula with Margaret Qualley and Andie MacDowell taking two of the lead roles.
Land says she’ll never get used to the spotlight this book has thrust upon her, but she feels confident in the people telling her story.
"John Wells and Margot Robbie and ErinJontowl were on the call, and they were so excited about the story but they were really excited about expanding on it, and adding a lot of diversity to the characters in the book and fictionalizing it, and expanding on other stories, and, and I really really liked that. - Author Stephanie Land
In anticipation of the show's launch, Land is more reflective than excited, noting the triggering content that’s soon to hit the big screen.
Her story might not have been the easiest to share, but it’s one that needs to be heard.
"This show is so authentic. It is real, it shows what it's like to only have two bucks in your pocket and to live with that amount of insecurity. I wrote my book so people would feel less alone,” Land concluded.
Watch the trailer for the show below.
