Nearer My Freedom

The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself

By: Monica Edinger, Lesley Younge

Narrated by: Heni Zoutomou, Clifford Samuel

Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context. This poetic approach provides interesting analysis and synthesis, helping readers to better understand the original text. Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing maps, visual tools, found-verse adaptation notes, and other resources.

2024 Award for Nearer my Freedom

The audible version of Edinger & Young’s Nearer My Freedom is masterful! The Outreach Council of the African Studies Association named this nonfiction book the Best Chapter Book for 2024 Children’s Africana Book Awards.