Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

It never occured to me the importance and the self-identity that relates to knowing one's birthday. I was surprised by how the lack of that basic knowledge affected me just by reading the text. I think knowing your age makes up a good part of your self-identity. In this narrative Frederick Douglass is treated very much like an animal that is taken from its mother after a few months and is almost completely devoid of maternal attachment. How would that affect the psychological development of a child? I suppose since Douglass was raised by another woman he might've just attached to her as a mother figure. I think I read somewhere that if a child doesn't receive an adequate amount of attention and affection in early life it affects their development of personality... So I was surprised that Douglass seemed to grow into a normal person. Also, I appreciate how this text was written - It was very easy to read as a story.