In the 1800s, African American women that were held as slaves struggled in day to day life.  They had to deal with mental and physical abuse, being beaten by their owners, being sexually abuse, and struggled to keep their families and themselves healthy and safe.  One such woman that was able to power through this difficult time and share her experiences as a slave was Harriet Jacobs.  Harriet was born into slavery in 1813.  As she got older her mother's mistress taught her to read and write and her master began to have quite an interest in Harriet.  She was sexually assaulted by him and he refused to allow her to marry another man.  After having children with a lawyer Harriet escaped and went into hiding while trying to fight to keep her family safe.  After years of hiding Harriet's lover bought his children and freed them from slavery.  Harriet was told to contact Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, so that she could document her story.  Harriet did just this and wrote about her struggle as an African American woman slave in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.