Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education

In this follow-up to her first memoir, Stephanie Land details her final years of undergraduate study at the University of Montana while raising her young daughter as a single parent. The narrative focuses on the systemic barriers of the American higher education system, specifically how financial aid policies and bureaucratic requirements punish poor students. Land describes the physical toll of nutritional deficiency, the stress of accruing student loan debt, and the specific isolation of being a non-traditional student navigating a creative writing program while surviving on food stamps and seasonal cleaning work.

Readers interested in the intersection of poverty and academia will find a realistic account of how social safety nets often fail the people they are designed to help. The book appeals to those seeking a candid look at the logistical hurdles of social mobility and the dignity of the working poor. Readers finish the book with a clear understanding of how the pursuit of a degree functions as a high-risk gamble for parents living below the poverty line.