Michelle Cliff believes that there is continuity "in the written work of many African American Women, ... you can draw a line from the slave narrative of Linda Brent to Elizabeth Keckley's life, to "Their Eyes were Watching God" (by Zora Neale Hurston) to "Coming of Age in Mississippi" (Anne Moody) to Sula (by Toni Morrison), to the "Salt Eaters" (by Toni Cade Bambara) to "Praise Song for the Widow" (by Paule Marshall)." Cliff believes that all of these women, through their stories, "Work against the odds to claim the 'I'".