Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review.
It can be difficult for memoirs to stand out. I’ve been fortunate to have read ones that are able to distinguish themselves. Today’s memoir is no different. Since that genre is essentially a biography that focuses on one specific life-changing event and contains some sort of message, what if the subject’s life is shrouded in mystery? That’s the conflict Sandra Schnakenburg writes about in The Housekeeper’s Secret. With International Housekeepers Week coming up on Sunday, September 13, I wanted to read it. It’s a great story that focuses on what the housekeeper Lee meant to her family even if Sandy knew very little about her.
The Housekeeper’s Secret is about one woman’s journey to uncover the revelations about her family’s housekeeper. When Lee Metoyer is hired to be the new housekeeper, she has no idea that she’s going to be the anchor in an abusive patriarch’s home. This sets a mystery in motion that will take decades to uncover. Then at age, 72, Lee’s on her deathbed and asks Sandy to write about her life. The problem is that Sandy doesn’t know the story. She embarks on a quest to honor the woman’s final wishes, and it unveils shocking truths not only about her housekeeper, but also her upbringing.
I’m usually a slow reader, yet I managed to read this book in about a week, and I’m not just saying that because I had a cat on my lap for part of it. I knew I was going to like this memoir when I read the first few pages. The first half of this book is about the author’s life while growing up. It begins when Sandra visits her mom and Lee in 1994 when the former is dying. Lee instructs her to write a story about her life, but soon after, she dies before she can tell. After the prologue, the book opens with Sandra’s mother lining up the three-year-old and her siblings to meet Lee for the very first time. They want to know what the new housekeeper is going to be like. Both the prologue and the opening beautifully set the scene.
From there, Sandra shows what kind of person Lee was. She was quiet, devoted, and a life-long Chicago Cubs fan. In addition, she helped the family in more ways than one. These include encouraging Sandra’s mom to stand up to her narcissistic husband and caring for Sandra mentally and emotionally after she’s struck by a car. The latter hit me because this is what I wanted from people when I was young. Growing up neurodivergent, people wanted to see me communicate and not be socially awkward, yet they didn’t ask me why I struggled with those to begin with. Because Sandra’s face was disfigured after the accident, her family checked on her to see if she could communicate. It destroyed her self-esteem because no one inquired on how she was on the inside. Only Lee did, and she helped her, particularly with puzzles to build up her patience. These actions bridge the gap between when the author first met the housekeeper and when she’s asked to write her story.
Since the book is called The Housekeeper’s Secret, it doesn’t fully go into that until the second half. Schnakenburg shows her journey with researching and lays out her reactions to discovering certain parts of Lee’s background. What the author finds is extremely devastating. This all helps Schnackenburg to understand why the housekeeper did what she did, which makes her all the more grateful. What she does with the information about Lee is very touching.
The Housekeeper’s Secret by Sandra Schnakenburg is a great ode of gratitude to a family housekeeper. While it’s tough to write the life story of a person without knowing much of their background, the author makes it truly work by placing her relationship with Lee at the fore-front. Schnakenburg is clear that the housekeeper did so much for her family that it couldn’t be repaid while portraying her as human. The way she writes about this made me fully invested in seeing how the story will develop and knowing what the secret is. I would recommend it to all readers regardless if they grew up with a housekeeper. People like Lee deserve love and respect at all costs.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything 