The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
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4.1 • 87 Ratings
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Publisher Description
An Apple Books Classics edition.
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth was first published in 1850—a dozen years before the Emancipation Proclamation. At the time, this rare, first-person account of the horrors of slavery was a revelation for readers. Truth’s unsentimental descriptions of her experiences, including the beatings she suffered and the time her toddler-aged brother hid under a bed when he learned he’d been sold from his parents, forced people to contemplate Truth’s simple, penetrating question: “What a way is this of treating human beings?”
The book goes on to chronicle Truth’s trailblazing life. After she escaped enslavement, she toured the country, speaking to abolitionists and calling out those that didn’t include women’s rights in their fight for equality. Truth successfully sued a white man for her son’s freedom, escaped persecution from a cult, and, long before Rosa Parks took her famous bus ride, climbed aboard a whites-only streetcar. Sojourner Truth was born an enslaved person, but she died a freedom fighter. Her story deserves to be read, shared, and absorbed.
Customer Reviews
Sojourner Truth
Later in life, Sojourner Truth changed her given name and dictated some details from her life to enlighten others, which became this book. Her given name was Isabella. She was born a slave. She struggled to overcome. And we can learn to be better humans by understanding her experience of some of the worst aspects of the human condition.
I would be lying if I didn't say parts of this book made me cry, tore at my heart, and made me feel shame to be human, but that can be expected of any book detailing how humans treat each other when we think we are somehow better than each other.
Heartbreaking firsthand accounts of slavery
A heartbreaking look into a life of slavery. The accounts and stories are gut wrenching.
Halfway through the book, the writer focused on Isabelle’s / Soujourner’s journey with religion. I personally found it drag on and a bit borning, though it is a part of the subject’s story.
Insightful book