Send Judah First

The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul

By: Brian Johnson

Narrated by: Elizabeth Isitor

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A young girl’s life is shattered when she is stolen from her African village in a midnight raid, ruthlessly torn from her family to be beaten, chained, degraded, and enslaved in a heartless world she can barely comprehend. The slave ledger at Virginia’s Belle Grove Plantation only reveals that Judah was purchased to be the cook, gave birth to 12 children, and died in April 1836. But, like the other 276 faceless names entered in that ledger, Judah lived. Brian C. Johnson’s important work of historical fiction goes beyond what is recorded to portray the depth, humanity, and vulnerability of a beautiful soul all but erased by history. For Judah, as Johnson notes, “did the ultimate - she survived. Not as a weakling, but resilient and determined."

©2019 Hidden Shelf Publishing House (P)2021 Hidden Shelf Publishing House

Not a bad story

Though a little choppy, I found the story engaging enough for what it was. I loved the voice of the narrator for everything except the southern accent. I know a southern accent is not always easy, but this one was especially bad and distracting.

An interesting historical fiction story.

Before you begin this book, you need to have one thing clear: this book is based on reality only to a limited extent. Judah existed in real life, but what her life actually was like, no one knows in detail. The book is entirely a figment of the author's imagination and research into those times, so it needs to be treated as a historical fiction rather than a true life narrative.
What makes this book unique is that unlike most slave narratives, this book doesn’t focus on those who have attempted an escape from slavery, or done anything brave or overtly remarkable in the eyes of modern citizens of the world. It is just an insight into the routine life of one of the thousands of blacks who were kept under harsh slavery on the white plantations in the South. As the author rightly says, there have been so many unnamed slaves whom history has forgotten. This is his attempt to remember just one of those unknown ordinary persons caught under extraordinary circumstances. The daily humiliation, the harsh treatment, the lack of privacy, the disrespect that these people faced just because of their skin colour all comes to the fore in this story. It makes you so uncomfortable to listen to it that you can't help but wonder what it must have been to live through it.
There are minor writing errors, but it is still a good read.
3.5 stars.
The audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Isitor. I found her accent wonderful and authentic. While she does make a few pronunciation mistakes in words such as Colonel or pined, she still did a wonderful job in bringing this book to life. I loved the way she sang wherever there were hymns in the story. Her voice added magic to the narrative.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Unhappy.

The story really intrigued me, but once I started listening the writing style felt really choppy, like it went abruptly from moment to moment with no transition. The characters feel unmoored in their setting -- there's little to no description of environment, clothing, physical appearance...nothing. Furthermore, the woman who narrates clearly struggles with the pronunciation (English, I'm guessing is not her first language, though her accent is lovely), stumbles over words, and I can hear weird background noises that indicate a less-than-professional sound setup.

I feel like I spent $20 for amateur hour, basically, and I tried to return the book after only listening to the first few chapters, only for Audible to tell me I'm not able to return this title.