Armed with a college education, along with basic hopes and dreams shared by many living in America, Jean Bergman boldly ventures out into the world of low waged work. Before long, she finds herself leading the precarious life of a cleaning lady who earns a wage that she deems outrageous—and berates—for keeping her below the real poverty line. In her irreverent tone, Bergman depicts this world of low-waged work by exploring a variety of clients and coworkers, while criticizing the quality of interactions in this setting and portraying her shady employers with all the flaws in their management practices. Maid Not For You is not for the faint of heart. It delves into the unpleasant (including the narrator, herself); it dissects the underbelly of an industry that dehumanizes; and it employs the language of the streets and the New York Metro where the working poor rub shoulders with the indifferent and the affluent. This story also conveys deep disappointment in the powers that be, who seem oblivious to the contradictions that such conditions create in the “land of the free.” Against this backdrop of real disillusionment and cynicism, Bergman makes powerful connections between the low-wage employment culture and the culture of mediocrity that pervades American politics, education, and media. For clarification on this fictional memoir, the authentic identities of most businesses, including the narrator, all clients, coworkers, employers, employees in management and hospitality, have been altered for the sake of confidentiality.
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