A nanny’s glimpse into the homes of some of America’s wealthiest families. After graduating from college, Kiser set out for New York, seeking to become a writer. Quickly realizing that writing wasn’t going to pay the bills, she became a nanny for the ultra-wealthy. “I’m waiting outside the school pickup line sandwiched between Drew Barrymore and a cousin of George W. Bush,” she writes on the first page. “Steve Martin and his wife are a few spots ahead.” Eventually, the shiny newness of their celebrity status wore out, as she discovered that most of New York’s uber-wealthy reap their lavish benefits off the backs of hardworking Americans. She also came to understand that they will always have the upper hand due to a rigged financial system. On the other side of that coin, Kiser shows parents struggling to provide for their children (including herself), many of whom are unable to afford new clothes, let alone expensive Versace onesies. After getting burned out from the long hours and demanding nature of her job, the author admits, “The people I worked for had all the markers of success: savings, assets, a beautiful home, children they could easily provide for. I had a few thousand in the bank and a 24/7 work mentality. My life looked so much better than it had growing up, but I wondered now if I had lost more than I had gained. Was Iactually doing well, or had people who had far more than I did just tricked me intobelieving I was?” Despite the constant hurdles she jumped over & the unfairness and hypocrisy she saw every day, humor and wit pervade her page-turning tales, allowing a lightness to peek through her poignant, pertinent employment experiences.
