I Left Poverty After Writing ‘Maid.’ But Poverty Never Left Me

“I was a ‘success story,’ and an extremely likable one. I’m very conscious that my story is the palatable kind of poor-person story. There’s no doubt in my mind that people paid more attention to it because I am white, hold a bachelor’s degree, and even though my parents grew up poor, I was raised in three–bedroom, 2½-bath homes for most of my childhood.”