Remarkable account of slavery everyone should read

In high school, during Black History month, we read several books—-Black Boy, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a slew of Martin Luther King speeches—-but I think the most interesting narrative of the black race’s relationship to slavery and freedom that caught my eye was the then-released movie “12 Years A Slave”. After watching it I was so moved by the Northup’s story—and the side characters Patsey, Eliza, and them—that I vowed i would read the book if it came into my hands one day.

That day appears to be the day and I’m glad I read it. Though I wish I’d read it in high school, Twelve Years A Slave is still equally as insightful and haunting, into the life of a man who , born free in New York, was drugged and robbed of his freedom and inhumanely sold off to slavery for a fifth of his life. The book feels so raw and vivid and emotional it moved me more than once.

It’s definitely not a book to read it one day. The joyride of emotions—from frustration, depression, fury, fear, hopelessness, to finally satisfaction—-will leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth about our nation’s centuries-old sin. Anyone reading this book will never be short of words if someone asks them, “Was slavery really that bad?” or “Being born into it must have been easier than what Solomon death with—-“ Because despite this being his story, Northup does a brilliant job of exploring all avenues to those arguments—-the accounts of the other slaves he befriended being the most dare I say daunting.

This book shouldn’t just be reserved for the month of February but any day of the year. Enlighten yourselves if you can.