"Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi"

Oprah Winfrey is stating that checking out books enabled her to leave her minimal surroundings and check out a world of ideas and experiences. Learning to read at a young age opened up a brand-new world for her beyond the farm where she matured in Mississippi. Books became a way of individual liberty for her.