Introduction "I Will Run Away"
Part 1. Running to Be Free
1. From A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery. With an Appendix, Containing a List of Places Visited by the Author in Great Britain and Ireland and the British Isles; and Other Matter
2. From Narrative of James Curry, A Fugitive Slave
3. From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself
Part 2. Running Because of Family
4. From Slavery Days in Old Kentucky. A True Story of a Father Who Sold His Wife and Four Children. By One of the Children.
5. From The Narrative of Bethany Veney: A Slave Woman
6. From Life and Adventures of Robert, the Hermit of Massachusetts, Who has lived 14 Tears in a Cave, secluded from human society. Comprising, An account of his Birth, Parentage, Sufferings, and providential escape from unjust and cruel Bondage in early life-and his reasons for becoming a Recluse
Part 3. Running Inspired by Religion
7. From A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America; Written by Himself, and Published for His Benefit; to Which Are Prefixed, a Few Remarks by Robert Hurnard
8. From The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Va
9. From Sunshine and Shadow of Slave Life. Reminiscences as told by Isaac D. Williams to "Tege"
Part 4. Running by Any Means Necessary
10. From Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself
11. From Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself
12. From Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery
Historical Afterword: Contextualizing the Runaway Experience: A Brief History of Slavery in America, by Brenda E. Stevenson