Replay: Stephanie Land shares Five Things She's Learned about Writing, From the Margins of America
Check out the first five minutes of her recent class.
“As a country, we are in dire need of empathy. First person narratives have the power to break down walls and allow people to see how other people live. I do still hold a lot of hope for us as a society if we can learn to see the world through another person’s filter. For all these reasons, I hope you’ll join me for this two-hour session. It’s intended for any stage of the writing process, and for readers who want to more about how this process works.”
– Stephanie Land, Five Things I’ve Learned about Writing, From the Margins of America
In Five Things I’ve Learned about Writing, From the Margins of America, Stephanie offers insights into navigating the writing process, particularly from the perspective of parenting under the poverty line. Drawing from her experiences, she shares valuable advice on claiming expertise, shaping and pitching writing, overcoming vulnerability, and handling online and offline criticism, aiming to foster empathy and understanding in a society often quick to judge those living on the margins.
Stephanie is the author of the bestselling debut memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, which recounts her harrowing saga as a single mom navigating the poverty trap. Her unflinching testimony exposes the physical, economic, and social brutality that domestic workers face, all while radiating a parent’s hope and dedication. Her second memoir Class, picks up where Maid left off as she faces the new challenges of being a poor college student and single parent.
Stephanie writes about economic and social justice, domestic abuse, chronic illness, and motherhood, and has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and The New York Review of Books, among many other outlets. A writing fellow at the Center for Community Change, she has worked with Barbara Ehrenreich at the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Thanks for being part of Five Things I’ve Learned on Substack. Visit myfivethings.com to view personal video invitations from more than 100 more writers, thinkers, and artists we admire – and to get special discounted pricing with our Five Things I’ve Learned Multi Pass.