By Natalia Angeles
“Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” is a rollercoaster of emotions, starting from struggles of being a single mother to realizing emotional abuse is still domestic abuse.
Inspired by Stephanie Land’s book, the series takes on various topics that evoke empowerment: women’s empowerment.
Margaret Qualley who plays Alex, a 25 year old single mother/ writer starts off the series by running away from her home with her almost three-year-old daughter Maddy.
With nowhere to go and no family to trust, Alex and Maddy become homeless.
All 10 episodes are a journey of anger, sadness and disappointment.
These episodes tackle the reality of taking the first step out of an unhealthy environment.
A highly significant topic in this series is poverty.
These episodes highlight the amount of money Alex is losing while looking for food, shelter and transportation.
The countless homes they find themselves in all highlight the hardship of being a survivor of domestic abuse.
The storyline also includes Maddy’s father, Sean (Nick Robinson), a bartender at The Swan, who later is shown to have addiction and anger issues.
These issues lead Alex to want a better environment for her daughter.
Throughout the episodes, Alex gets constant flashbacks of the first act of violence Sean displayed.
Sean presents the character traits most domestic abusers have and many women tend to ignore.
The process of becoming a single mother includes having to provide for your children with no other source of income.
Alex finds a job called Value Maids, which is hidden in the back of a laundromat.
Through this job, she finds someone who plays a crucial role in her journey.
Regina (Anika Noni Rose), one of her very first clients, helps Alex in many forms to overcome the struggle of being a single mother.
Being a maid not only supports Alex financially, but also artistically.
From house to house, Alex finds inspiration in the people that live there.
After every clean, she grabs her composition notebook and writes about the personality of the house.
She names them by what she sees and listens; The Loving House, The C*nt House, The Porn House.
The well composed series illustrates the beauty of being a mother and knowing one’s worth.
Alex’s art of writing represents how she feels and the way she sees the outer world without any fear.
Her writing is the only thing that saves her from the constant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that she suffers from her abuser.
A beautiful and great journey that sheds light throughout this series.
If you or anyone is suffering from domestic abuse there are resources to reach out for help:
Domestic Violence Support | The National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org)
Resources (ncadv.org)
Resources for Families – Child Welfare Information Gateway