His first childhood memory recorded in the book is his being brutally separated from his mother by her buyer: "Young as I was, the horrors of that day sank deeply into my heart, and even at this time, though half a century has elapsed, the terrors of the scene return with painful vividness upon my memory."
The book records the author's first childhood memory of being forcibly separated from his mother by her buyer: "Young as I was, the horrors of that day left a deep impression on my heart, and even now, after fifty years, the terror of the scene still haunts me with vivid clarity."