Leon's Story

Leon's Story
By: Leon Walter Tillage, Susan L. Roth

When I first heard of this book, I figured it was going to be like every other book about slavery that I had read. I almost had a stand-offish attitude toward the story. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about this subject. I was ready to read something different. Within the first few turns of just a few pages, I realized how little I actually knew.

You always hear about what some blacks had to go through during these times. You hear of hard work, hard labor, being taken away from your family, starvation, disease, and a little about the KKK. Leon's Story brought these issues to life due to the fact that it is an actual account of something a real life person had to go through.

 I can't even begin to imagine what life would have been like. I can't imagine spending my whole life building something, for nothing. I can't imagine spending my life working for next to nothing and knowing I was never going to be free from debt. I can't imagine losing family members or watching my loved ones suffer. All because the color of my skin.

This story brought out emotions in me that I wasn't aware I had. I was laughing. I was crying. I was angry. I was frustrated. I could feel the pain that the main character felt. What a journey this story took me on! I encourage all of you to take the same journey and to really brace yourself for one story you'll never forget.