<\/p>
Viewers have found themselves gripped by Netflix drama Maid<\/a>, which stars rising talent Margaret Qualley as a young woman raising her daughter in poverty.<\/p>\n Alex begins working as a maid for wealthy people after leaving her abusive boyfriend (played by A Teacher<\/a>\u2018s Nick Robinson in the Maid cast<\/a>), but still finds herself struggling to get enough money to put food on the table.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a heartbreaking tale that will feel very real to some viewers, with the UK seeing a sharp rise in food bank usage in recent years, while the disparity between the rich and poor in society continues to grow around the world.<\/p>\n In that sense, Maid is firmly rooted in the difficult reality of modern life, but viewers are also wondering whether Alex\u2019s specific story is factual or a work of fiction.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Sadly, the hit series is indeed based on a true story, inspired by the life of author Stephanie Land that she chronicled in an acclaimed 2019 memoir called Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother\u2019s Will to Survive<\/a>.<\/p>\n While she was raised in a middle class household, Land fell below the poverty line later in life after developing post-traumatic stress disorder and becoming a single mother.<\/p>\n Many of Land\u2019s experiences discussed in the autobiography are depicted in the Maid series on Netflix<\/a>, including a reliance on welfare programs, an abusive relationship, struggling to afford food and going to a homeless shelter with her daughter.<\/p> The book \u2013 and by extension, the series \u2013 has been highly praised for drawing attention to an issue that is affecting more and more people each year.<\/p>\n Land has been vocal in her criticism of the idea that working hard will always guarantee success and security, a notion which has long provided the foundation of the so-called \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d.<\/p>\n The author worked cleaning jobs for six years before managing to secure a place at the University of Montana with financial aid coming from student loans and grants.<\/p>\n She was reliant on food stamps until her graduation, at which point she was able to build a career as a freelance writer, with early pieces published by Vox and The Huffington Post.<\/p>\n Maid reached number three on the New York Times Bestseller List upon release in January 2019, with Netflix ordering a live-action adaptation in November of the same year.<\/p>\n Maid is available to stream on Netflix. Read our guides to the best TV series on Netflix<\/a> and best movies on Netflix<\/a>, c<\/span>heck out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Monday, 11 October 2021 at 12:00 am Viewers have found themselves gripped by Netflix drama Maid, which stars rising talent Margaret Qualley as a young woman raising her daughter in poverty. Alex begins working as a maid for wealthy people after leaving her abusive boyfriend (played by A Teacher\u2018s Nick Robinson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":5613,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/10\/is-maid-on-netflix-based-on-a-true-story.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Monday, 11 October 2021 at 12:00 am Viewers have found themselves gripped by Netflix drama Maid, which stars rising talent Margaret Qualley as a young woman raising her daughter in poverty. Alex begins working as a maid for wealthy people after leaving her abusive boyfriend (played by A Teacher\u2018s Nick Robinson…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/5611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is Maid on Netflix a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"