The Maid's Daughter

Book excerpt: At a very young age, Olivia left her family and traditions in Mexico to live with her mother, Carmen, in one of Los Angeles's most exclusive and nearly all-white gated communities. Based on over twenty years of research, Romero brings Olivia's remarkable story to life. We watch as she struggles through adolescence, declares her independence and eventually goes off to college and becomes a successful professional. Much of her story is told in Olivia's voice and we hear of both her triumphs and her setbacks. Romero explores this story about belonging, identity, and resistance, illustrating Olivia's challenge to establish her sense of identity, and the patterns of inclusion and exclusion in her life. Romero points to the hidden costs of paid domestic labor that are transferred to the families of private household workers and nannies, and shows how everyday routines are important in maintaining and assuring that various forms of privilege are passed on from one generation to another. She shows how mythologies of meritocracy, the land of opportunity, and the American dream remain firmly in place while simultaneously erasing injustices and the struggles of the working poor. From publisher description.