Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This isn’t exactly a fun read. It’s not something that will lift your spirits and put you in a fabulous, animated mood. Instead, it’s heavy, it’s grave, it’s heart-wrenching, it’s fascinating, and it’s compelling to the end.
The writing is at times stark, at times stoic, and at times so passionate that it leaps off the page and into the heart. That’s the only way I can possibly describe it. I had so many thoughts while reading this book that it was impossible not to journal about it, which you can read here if you are so moved. (The tag is being added to; I still have some back-logged journal entries I haven’t gotten around to posting there yet.)
Suffice it to say, Frederick Douglass was an amazing man, so far ahead of his time, and this is one of those books that I want as many people as possible to read, because I honestly think doing so can inspire us all to be better than what we are. A tremendous autobiography.
