[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fSB_Kl0mcJRd2QbwVltonSFWfFdyyhLMxuXerBTAHrLs":3,"$fftdEf5hpcz9nga2XAWD7-em8stcT5oSKu3OJ07d6xyw":16},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},77842,"Stephanie Land","S",7,null,"stephanie-land",[12],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},3956,"poverty",5,{"quotes":17,"pagination":113},[18,31,40,54,68,77,102],{"id":19,"quote_text":20,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":23,"source":24,"quote_tag":25,"commentary":9},672857,"I felt like sitting down meant I wasn't doing enough--like the sort of lazy welfare recipient I was assumed to be. Time lounging to read a book felt overly indulgent; almost as though such leisure was reserved for another class. I had to work constantly. I had to prove my worth for receiving government benefits.",2,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[26],{"id":27,"tag":28},3388789,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},8353,"welfare",{"id":32,"quote_text":33,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":34,"source":35,"quote_tag":36,"commentary":9},596626,"Every single parent teetering on poverty does this. We work, we love, we do. And the stress of it all, the exhaustion, leaves us hollowed. Scraped out. Ghosts of our former selves. That's how I felt for those few days after the accident, like I wasn't fully connected to the ground when I walked. I knew that at any moment, a breeze could come and blow me away.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[37],{"id":38,"tag":39},3151096,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},596580,"Being poor, living in poverty, seemed a lot like probation - the crime being a lack of means to survive.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[46,49],{"id":47,"tag":48},3150952,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":50,"tag":51},3150961,{"id":52,"tag_name":53},13928,"real-life",{"id":55,"quote_text":56,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":57,"source":58,"quote_tag":59,"commentary":9},596405,"Despite being wealthy and having the two story houses of our American dreams, the marbled sink bathrooms, the offices with bay windows looking out at the water, their lives still lacked something. I became fascinated by the things hidden in dark corners and the self help books for hope. Maybe they just had longer hallways and bigger closets to hide the things that scared them.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[60,63],{"id":61,"tag":62},3150149,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":64,"tag":65},3150150,{"id":66,"tag_name":67},8955,"wealthy",{"id":69,"quote_text":70,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":71,"source":72,"quote_tag":73,"commentary":9},596402,"When people think of food stamps they don't envision someone like me, someone plain faced and white, someone like the girl they'd known in highschool, someone who'd been quiet but nice, someone like a neighbor, someone like them. Maybe that made them too nervous about their own situation. Maybe they saw in me the chance of their own fragile circumstances, that with one lost job, one divorce, they'd be in the same place as me.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[74],{"id":75,"tag":76},3150138,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":101},596379,"Most of my friendships had faded over the last year because I’d isolated myself and hidden from the embarrassment of my daily life.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[83,86,91,96],{"id":84,"tag":85},3150014,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":87,"tag":88},3150010,{"id":89,"tag_name":90},4830,"embarrassment",{"id":92,"tag":93},3150012,{"id":94,"tag_name":95},5072,"friendships",{"id":97,"tag":98},3150013,{"id":99,"tag_name":100},14323,"isolated","**The Backstory**\nStephanie Land, author of \"Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Provide,\" wrote these words during her time living in poverty as a single mother. In 2016, she penned an essay for The Nation that would later become the basis for her memoir. At this point in her life, Land was struggling to make ends meet while working as a maid, often feeling isolated and ashamed of her circumstances.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nWhat's striking about this quote is the way it subverts traditional notions of social isolation. Rather than lamenting the loss of friendships due to external circumstances, Land acknowledges that she herself has contributed to their decline by hiding from others. This paradox highlights a common pitfall: believing that our struggles will be met with empathy and understanding, when in reality, they often lead us to withdraw further into ourselves.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that your own emotional withdrawal can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and disconnection. Instead, consider being more intentional about sharing your vulnerabilities with trusted friends or a therapist, not for their pity but for the chance to connect on a deeper level and find support in shared struggles.",{"id":103,"quote_text":104,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":105,"source":106,"quote_tag":107,"commentary":9},553932,"Though I never met or spoke to any of them, though many did not know that I existed, my clients began to feel like family members or friends I worried about, wondered about, cared for from a distance. I wondered what my clients did in the evenings. Where they sat. What they ate and watched the day before. How they felt day to day. My life had become so quiet. These people gave me something to look forward to, people to hope for and want good things for other than myself.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[108],{"id":109,"tag":110},2999778,{"id":111,"tag_name":112},2829,"humanity",{"currentPage":114,"totalPages":114,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":115},1,10]