I found the best line from “The Book of the Dead” to be the following, found on page 138: “I am a married man and have a family. God/ knows if they can do anything for me/ it will be appreciated if you can do anything for me/ let me know soon /.” It put things into perspective as a reader, knowing that these were real, every day people with real families and every day struggles. It shows their desperation and fear. They had people to come home to and, unfortunately, they had tragedy awaiting them. Reading the essay was challenging because of the death of all these workers, how they suffered with silicosis, and how it was also during a time where African Americans were treated with such prejudice.