Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs

Synopsis: Published in 1861, this book is an autobiographical account of the author's experiences as a slave in nineteenth century North Carolina, from her relatively happy childhood to the brutality she experienced as a teenager and a young woman to her eventual escape to the North. One of the few slave narratives written by a woman, Jacobs's work deals frankly with the horrors of slavery, shedding light on the abuses female slaves in particular often endured at the hands of their masters.

Thoughts: I thought that 12 Years A Slave was a tough read, because of the abuse that was depicted in it...but it was nothing compared to what I read in this book. Female slaves were totally degraded in a variety of ways---unimaginable ways at times. This poor woman was forced to hide in a tiny cramped space for seven years before she was able to escape to New England---and had to watch her children growing up without her. Thankfully, once she went North, she was able to make a home for the three of them.