There are various types of life stories that are connected to the history of slavery and the quest for freedom from bondage. Sometimes these stories of enslavement are described as 'slave narratives', but in many cases it would be better to refer to them as 'freedom narratives', 'conversion narratives' or some other term (Lovejoy, 2011). Many accounts were written by individuals who achieved their freedom; others were dictated to people who recounted the quest of individuals seeking freedom. Thus, the life stories presented in this section recount more accurately how a number of people managed to escape from  
enslavement. The narratives chronicle personal resistance, unwavering struggles for survival and successful achievements, demonstrating that enslavement did not destroy the humanity and dignity of those who were exposed to its oppression, an oppression that has since been recognized as a crime. This is specifically the case of individuals who were once free in Africa, and whose personal accounts help us understand more fully what enslavement meant to those who endured the Middle Passage across the Atlantic or the tortuous journeys within Africa, across the Sahara and the Indian Ocean. Their stories focus on the quest for emancipation, through escape, self-purchase or other means, but always resulting in freedom (Gates, 1987). The trauma of the Middle Passage has been the subject of considerable reflection in discussions of the impact of transatlantic slavery on the cultures and societies of the Americas. It is these narratives that attest to the 'curse of constant remembrance', as Laura Murphy (2008) describes the long-term effects of trauma resulting from the psychological scars of the Middle Passage that mark 'the unfortunate legacy of the slave trade' in modern literature. As her analysis in this collection demonstrates, there are thousands of testimonies of those who experienced enslavement in the United States of America, allowing us to hear the voices of these individuals who struggled to survive.