Isabella described the way the slaves lived in New England which was in the dark, damp cellars under the big houses. The only daylight they saw was through the cracks in the floorboards. There was no privacy at all. Everyone lived in the one big space. The narrative makes slavery real and more horrible as Isabella described her parents sitting out a little pine knot that they set afire for light in the evenings and talked to remember their children who had been sold away from them. Isabella remembered her little brother being taken.