As I read these chapters, it pains me to repeat the thoughts of what these poor people had to go through…

—Joseph Jacobs

As I read these chapters, it pains me to repeat the thoughts of what these poor people had to go through. For enslaved Africans, freedom is a challenging word mentally and physically during this time. Linda being stuck in that space for seven years does not feel like it should be real. Her mental toughness during this time is heroic and shows how tough some of these people had to be in order to stay alive. As she reminds herself of the benefits of being away from Dr. Flint and acting as if she is on a retreat of some sort, the details portrayed by Jacobs make us wonder how any of this was possible.

As I continued reading, I saw the challenges that being hidden brings upon Linda. She is disconnected from the world, only staying up to date with letters written by William. When the letters stop and she learns that William escaped, the fear of Mr. Sands was something I felt within my own body. I imagined that my own brother had escaped from his slave master and I was unable to get in contact with him. I almost feel like Linda’s grandmother cannot catch a break, as her granddaughter gets pregnant with a slave owner, then shortly after, hides from another aggressive slave owner. Then her grandson gets shipped off to Washington with her granddaughter’s baby’s father, only to hear that he has escaped!