She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Title:  She Came to Slay

Author: Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Read by:  Robin Miles with a Note Read by The Author

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 53 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.  Thank-you!

My kids picked to listen to She Came to Slay:  The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman on a recent family road trip.  It was a book that we were all interested in from parents to the youngest at nine years old.  Luckily, the audiobook lived up to its promise and was one that we all enjoyed. 

She Came to Slay was written in an easy to understand manner that worked for our entire family to listen to.  There was one section that did discuss the rape of slaves, but it was tastefully written.  The book covered Tubman’s entire life from what is known about her ancestors, through her early years, her work as a conductor on the underground railroad, her work during the Civil War, and her later life.

One thing that really stood out to me was Harriet saying that if the myth of the benevolent slave owner was true, why had none of the escaped slaved she helped or lived near ever returned to slavery when times got tough in the north?    The other thing that really stood out to me was just how terribly Harriet was treated.  You wouldn’t treat an animal like that, let alone another human being.  It’s hard to understand how people could treat other people this way.  Harriet was forced to work when she was sick with the measles.  She was also forced to work in the field after a head injury with blood dripping down her face.  She was also beaten when trying to sit on a train with her veteran pass and for refusing to move to another car.  Who would beat an elderly veteran?

One item that has caused marital strife in the past between my husband Ben and myself is about whether Harriet Tubman should be on the $20 bill.  Ben believed that Tubman’s actions weren’t worthy of being on the $20 bill, but he seemed to change his mind as he listened to this autobiography.  There is more to Tubman’s story than what you briefly learn in school.

Narrator Robin Miles was interesting and kept the story moving.

Overall, She Came to Slay is a great biography of Harriet Tubman for the entire family to learn more about this amazing American hero.