Know My Name by Chanel Miller Published by Penguin Books Limited on September 24, 2019
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / Memoirs, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Social Science / Sexual Abuse & Harassment
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook
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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MEMOIR
'Incredibly moving and haunting' Roxane Gay
'I read this book cover to cover and it stunned me' Jia Tolentino
'Powerful, honest and necessary' Marian Keyes'To girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought every day for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you.'
Chanel Miller's story changed our world forever. In 2016 Brock Turner was sentenced to just six months in jail after he was caught sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. His light sentencing, and Chanel's victim impact statement, which was read by eleven million people in four days, sparked international outrage and action.
Know My Name is an intimate, profoundly moving memoir that exposes a patriarchal culture biased to protect perpetrators, a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and ultimately shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. Entwining pain, resilience, and humour, this breath-taking memoir will stand as a modern classic.
'I could not put this phenomenal book down' Glennon Doyle, bestselling author of UNTAMED
'To read Know My Name inspires hope' Guardian
'A searing, beautiful book' Sunday Times
'Know My Name marks the debut of a gifted young writer. Miller's words are purpose. They are maps. And she is a treasure who has prevailed' New York Times
I found this gem thanks to the Book Girls Guide. I remember the story. I didn’t know she wrote a book. We knew the name Brock Turner. We didn’t know the name Chanel Miller, for her privacy. An assault she had no memory of, a situation that no one knew would become the national sensation it became. All because one woman chose not to stay silent. And one man thought his status, his talent, and his entitlement would save him. Listen, I remember this story, and maybe I’m a bit biased. If you don’t remember this a quick google search will fill you in. There’s a lot to unpack here so let’s get started.
And when I say a lot to unpack, it was a 15-hour listen. A lot of words. So many words. But in those words, there was a narrative that took you into the experiences and headspace of Chanel. In that narrative, there was a lot of depth, but . . . there were a lot of times I got lost in the timeline as there was a lot of repetition. And I get that repetition, honestly, as sometimes it’s how you process experiences. But I think a good editor could have helped clean that up a bit for her. Tightened up the repetition and kept the timeline straight. I’ve read a lot of reviews that talked about how political she got in the later parts of the book. I have a feeling those were predominantly folks that didn’t agree with her politics. Honestly, I get where they were coming from regardless of agreement, but I also get why she thought it was important to include, as it was yet another way to process her own experiences as it was happening in a political pubic way. Did it enhance the book? No. Did it help her process? Honestly, yes; otherwise it wouldn’t have been included.
At the core, it’s a brutal healing from an assault that she couldn’t even remember. She remembers the aftermath; she remembers the public dissertation; she remembers the brutality of trial, and she remembers the process of healing. There’s a lot of trauma here, and that may make it not a good choice for someone who isn’t in a place to process that. There’s a lot to say about choosing the path of healing. Trauma can be subjective, and what I may find traumatic, you may not because it’s so personalized in how things affect us. Not all trauma is sexual assault. This is Chanel’s story of surviving, processing, healing, and working toward recovery of her own trauma. Yes there’s a lot of words, but for the right person, this can be a catalyst to explore and recover your own sense of self.
About Chanel Miller
Chanel Miller is a writer and artist. Her memoir, Know My Name, was a New York Times bestseller, a New York Times Book Review Notable Book, and a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Ridenhour Book Prize, and the California Book Award. It was also a best book of the year in Time, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, NPR, and People, among others. She was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Time Next 100 honoree, and was a Glamour Woman of the Year honoree under her pseudonym Emily Doe.
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