"I want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what slavery really is. Only by experience can any one realize how deep, and dark, and foul is that pit of abominations."

Such begins the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, a young woman born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina. This extraordinary woman overcame abuse from her master, seven years locked away in a tiny garret above her grandmother’s house, and survived an eventual escape to freedom. Her story is inspiring and, at times, horrifying, but throughout her experiences she maintains an attitude of persistence and hope. Harriet Jacobs is a hero that has slipped under the notice of all but a select few. Her remarkable story is one of bravery and incredible ingenuity, and is a story that must be told to remind the world of the horror and abomination that is slavery.

Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl, written by Harriet Jacobs, was published in 1861, 19 years after her daring escape to freedom. Harriet tells the story of her early years as a slave, the long years she spent hidden away, at times just feet from her master, and her harrowing escape to New York and to freedom. Due to the incredible danger associated with a free negro woman writing a book speaking out openly against slavery, Harriet wrote under the name of Linda Brent and changed nearly every name associated with her story.

Harriet never realized that she was a slave until she was six years of age, when her mother died. Under her first mistress’s protection she never felt the harmful effects of slavery. When Harriet was twelve years old, her mistress died, along with Harriet’s peaceful existence. She was now the property of three-year-old Emily Flint, the daughter of a prominent Edenton doctor by the name of James Norcom, whom she calls Dr. Flint in her autobiography.

Dr. Flint was a hardened and cruel man bent on making Harriet’s life miserable. “My master began to whisper foul words in my ear. [...] He was a crafty man, and resorted to many means to accomplish his purposes. [...] He peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could think of. I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. [...] He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things,” she writes.

With Dr. Flint’s offensive behavior continuing, she took it upon herself to, at all costs, find a way to keep her dignity intact. Harriet went in search of protection, and found it under a young lawyer by the name of Samuel Tredwell Sawyer, whom she calls Mr. Sands. At the age of fifteen Harriet gave birth to her first child by Mr. Sands, a boy that she would call Benjamin (Joseph) and would later give birth to a second child by the lawyer, a girl that she would call Ellen (Louisa). Although Harriet had done everything in her power to avoid Dr. Flint’s attentions, she remained his target and his actions turned violent against both her and her children.

When Harriet was nineteen, she made the daring decision to escape when Dr. Flint threatened to take her children to his son's plantation outside of Edenton. Her first attempt at escape was abandoned when Harriet was bitten by a poisonous snake and was forced to take refuge on an unnamed slave owner’s plantation. She never names this kind woman to avoid placing suspicion on her once the book was published. Harriet would stay in the attic of the plantation for a few weeks before she was taken to a nine by three by seven foot garret above the storage room in her grandmother’s house.

Her grandmother was a freed slave who had, over the years, built up a small but successful business to save up funds to free her children and grandchildren. With the death of Harriet’s parents, “Aunt Marthy,” as Harriet's grandmother was called, became the motherly figure in Harriet’s life. Harriet describes her grandmother as “a remarkable woman in many respects.” Harriet would pass an incredible seven years in the tiny, stifling room, waiting for a chance to escape and watching her children grow up from a peephole drilled into the wall. With no room to sit up or turn around, Harriet’s muscles would eventually atrophy, causing her to have health problems for the remainder of her life.

She endured the heat, the cold, bugs, rain, pain and illness, but never gave up hope for escape. During her years in the attic, Victoria was crowned Queen of England, the Underground Railroad first helped guide a runaway slave to the North, and Texas gained its independence from Mexico. During Harriet’s second year in the attic, Ellen was sent away to the North where she was to become the servant to a sister of Mr. Sands. After seven years in the garret, Harriet was sneaked onto a boat to the North and disembarked in Philadelphia. She had finally escaped the heavy chains of slavery.

Harriet would spend the remainder of her life in the North, pursued by Dr. Flint and, eventually, Miss Emily Flint herself. In 1852, Cornelia Grinnell Willis, Harriet’s kindhearted employer, would purchase Harriet’s freedom and secure her protection for the remainder of her life. She was reunited with her children and secured their education. Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl was published in Boston and London in late 1861, but remained in obscurity until the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 70s spurred a reprint of Incidents in 1973. Harriet Jacobs was the first woman to publish a fugitive slave narrative recounting her harrowing experiences as both a slave and a fugitive slave, yet she remains in obscurity.

Harriet Jacobs was an extraordinary woman with an extraordinary story. Her constant perseverance and determination are an exceptional example of the power of the human spirit. Her inspiring attitude and insistence to survive make her a true heroine that, although obscure, deserves a chance to have her story told.