My Bondage and My Freedom is an autobiographical slave narrative written by Frederick Douglass and published in 1855, discussing in greater detail his transition from bondage to liberty. Douglass, a former slave, following his liberation went on to become a prominent abolitionist, speaker, author, and publisher. In his foreword to the 2003 Modern Library paperback edition, John Stauffer writes: "My Bondage and My Freedom," is] a deep meditation on the meaning of slavery, race, and freedom, and on the power of faith and literacy, as well as a portrait of an individual and a nation a few years before the Civil War." As his narrative unfolds, Frederick Douglass-abolitionist, journalist, orator, and one of the most powerful voices to emerge from the American civil rights movement-transforms himself from slave to fugitive to reformer, leaving behind a legacy of social, intellectual, and political thought. The title includes Douglass's original Appendix, composed of excerpts from the author's speeches as well as a letter he wrote to his former master.