The idea of writing to the next generation about one's struggles to overcome poverty, discrimination, and repression dates back more than 200 years in American history and offers many perspectives on the American experience. Focusing on the literal and psychological journey to freedom in Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Morrison's "Beloved," and Jones's "The Known World," the author discusses how teachers of American literature can facilitate their students' reading of these three novels in chronological order to create a literary journey about culture's movement toward equality of opportunity.