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Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'
Know My Name: The Survivor of the Stanford Sexual Assault Case Tells Her Story by Chanel Miller
29 reviews
bookishpip's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I truly, honestly believe that this is one of the most powerful and impactful books I’ve ever read. I don’t think I will ever have the words to express my thoughts for this book in a way that is as graceful and well-considered as the work itself. I don’t think my review would do it justice.
A few years ago, the Stanford sexual assault case went viral; one of the reasons for this was the public release of her searingly honest victim impact statement. To protect her anonymity, she was known as Emily Doe - and in this book, she finally speaks out about her experiences, attributing her name and removing her anonymity. Miller’s impact statement was felt deeply by many, many people - and I believe that this book can, in a deeper way, similarly inspire hope in its truth.
Miller recounts her life growing up near the university and her experience of the blackout in which the assault happened. She also explains her experiences of the law and of dealing with legal proceedings in court - as well as how it felt to watch the case be reported in the media and go viral. It tackles head on some incredibly important topics such as consent, alcohol and accountability, perceptions and judgements of people on social media, class and gender privilege, and the balancing act between retribution and reform as aims of punishment.
What I found most inspiring of all is the refreshing honesty with which Miller’s words resonate. The use of metaphor and analogy to explain different feelings and processes related to various stages of trauma and recovery felt absolutely accurate. The way that she shared her journey - warts and all, without sanitising the pain and anger she experienced - was a real testament to her character. Even after having been through such a gruelling process, she used the experience as an opportunity to reach out in solidarity with fellow victims and make positive changes to the way in which cases like this are dealt with.
Overall, I believe that this is one of those books that anyone should read if they are looking to educate themselves on some of the aforementioned topics. Do beware of trigger warnings though - it doesn’t hold back.
A few years ago, the Stanford sexual assault case went viral; one of the reasons for this was the public release of her searingly honest victim impact statement. To protect her anonymity, she was known as Emily Doe - and in this book, she finally speaks out about her experiences, attributing her name and removing her anonymity. Miller’s impact statement was felt deeply by many, many people - and I believe that this book can, in a deeper way, similarly inspire hope in its truth.
Miller recounts her life growing up near the university and her experience of the blackout in which the assault happened. She also explains her experiences of the law and of dealing with legal proceedings in court - as well as how it felt to watch the case be reported in the media and go viral. It tackles head on some incredibly important topics such as consent, alcohol and accountability, perceptions and judgements of people on social media, class and gender privilege, and the balancing act between retribution and reform as aims of punishment.
What I found most inspiring of all is the refreshing honesty with which Miller’s words resonate. The use of metaphor and analogy to explain different feelings and processes related to various stages of trauma and recovery felt absolutely accurate. The way that she shared her journey - warts and all, without sanitising the pain and anger she experienced - was a real testament to her character. Even after having been through such a gruelling process, she used the experience as an opportunity to reach out in solidarity with fellow victims and make positive changes to the way in which cases like this are dealt with.
Overall, I believe that this is one of those books that anyone should read if they are looking to educate themselves on some of the aforementioned topics. Do beware of trigger warnings though - it doesn’t hold back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Sexual violence
kia_y_k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Murder, Genocide, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide, Alcohol, Child death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, Eating disorder, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, Grief, Alcohol, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders
emmiremmidemmi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
kaitlyncookies's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Sexual assault
_danicortes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Imposible parar de leerlo. Lloré muchas veces, de pena, de emoción, de alegría. Recomendadísimo, pero cuidado que puede ser muy fuerte para algunas personas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Mass/school shootings
rkap's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Mass/school shootings
eib_21's review
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
linguaphile412's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Sexual harassment, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Vomit, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
kelly_e's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Title: Know My Name
Author: Chanel Miller
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 5.0
Pub Date: September 24, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Raw • Illuminating • Transformative
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Know My Name is Chanel Miller's own personal account of her time known as Emily Doe. Brock Turner was found sexually assaulting her at Stanford, and yet was sentenced to a mere six months in county jail, despite witnesses, his running away, and physical evidence. She stunned the world with a letter, and her victim impact statement was shard on Buzzfeed, where it went viral. This is her journey to reclaim her identity and name as she tells of her trauma and shame in the aftermath.
💭 T H O U G H T S
A simply revealing and stunning piece of literature! Know My Name is a portrait showcasing how Chanel is so much more than simply a sexual assault survivor. It's a story intertwining pain, healing, and resilience in an effort to reclaim her life and introduces the reader to an incredible writer. The writing is simply breathtaking and honest. I do not know Chanel personally, nor am I a survivor, but she certainly made me feel not only her story, but the stories of thousands of others as well. This is one of the most powerful memoires I have ever bared witness to, and an illustration of why we fight to tell our stories.
This book exposes a flawed judicial system, the corruption and bureaucracy of Universities and Colleges, societies tendency towards blaming the victim, and the lack of support for victims and their families. It raises so many crucial questions and reveals what the victims of sexual assault must navigate in the aftermath.
I highly recommend tandem reading along to the audio for a more immersive experience. Chanel reads the book herself and you can hear the emotion in her voice and feel her pain in every word.
This is one I will be thinking about for quite some time. It is a necessary read that will spark conversation. Chanel's words have already changed our world, and Know My Name will be a defining piece of literature of our generation.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Every human!
• lovers of memoirs
• sexual assault survivor
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"This is an attempt to transform the hurt inside myself, to confront a past, and find a way to live with and incorporate these memories. I want to leave them behind so I can move forward. In not naming them, I finally name myself."
"I pulled out my small red notebook. I illuminated the pages with my phone, and wrote, 'I feel like I've already won'. It was a small nod to myself; I had done the impossible, showed up. Those who watched me cry on the stand might have perceived me as fragile, but I believed it to be the quiet beginning of my strength. I did what I'd never thought I could do, had somehow been spit out on the other side, still far from the finish line, but alive."
"But I had yet to understand the system. If you pay enough money, if you say the right things, if you take enough time to weaken and dilute the truth, the sun could slowly begin to look like an egg."
"Everything I need to get through this, I already have. Everything I need to know, I already know. Everything I need to be, I already am."
"The friendly guy who helps you moved and assists senior citizens in the pool is the same guy who assaulted me. One person can be capable of both. Society often fails to wraps its head around the fact there these truths often coexist, they are not mutually exclusive. Bad qualities can hide inside a good person. That's the terrifying part."
"When a victim does go for help, she is seen as attacking the assailant. These are separate seeking aid is her primary motive, his fallout is a secondary effect. But we are taught, if you speak, something bad happens to him. You will be blamed for every job he doesn't get, every game he doesn't play. His family, friends, community, team, will unleash hell on you, are you sure you want that? We forever her to think hard about what this will mean for his life, even though her never considered what his actions would do to her."
"There have been numerous times I have not brought up my case because I do not want to upset anybody or spoil the mood. Because I want to preserve your comfort. Because I have been told that what I have to say is too dark, too upsetting, too targeting, too triggering, let's tone it down. You will find society asking you for the happy ending, saying come back when you're better, when what you have to say can make us feel good, when you have something more uplifting, affirming. This ugliness was something I never asked for, it was dropped on me, and for a long time I worried it made me ugly too. It made me into a sad, unwelcome story that nobody wanted to hear.
But when I wrote the ugly and painful parts into a statement, an incredible thing happened. The world did not plug up its ears, it opened itself to me. I do not write to trigger victims. I write to comfort them, and I've found that victims identify more with pain than platitudes."
Author: Chanel Miller
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 5.0
Pub Date: September 24, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Raw • Illuminating • Transformative
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Know My Name is Chanel Miller's own personal account of her time known as Emily Doe. Brock Turner was found sexually assaulting her at Stanford, and yet was sentenced to a mere six months in county jail, despite witnesses, his running away, and physical evidence. She stunned the world with a letter, and her victim impact statement was shard on Buzzfeed, where it went viral. This is her journey to reclaim her identity and name as she tells of her trauma and shame in the aftermath.
💭 T H O U G H T S
A simply revealing and stunning piece of literature! Know My Name is a portrait showcasing how Chanel is so much more than simply a sexual assault survivor. It's a story intertwining pain, healing, and resilience in an effort to reclaim her life and introduces the reader to an incredible writer. The writing is simply breathtaking and honest. I do not know Chanel personally, nor am I a survivor, but she certainly made me feel not only her story, but the stories of thousands of others as well. This is one of the most powerful memoires I have ever bared witness to, and an illustration of why we fight to tell our stories.
This book exposes a flawed judicial system, the corruption and bureaucracy of Universities and Colleges, societies tendency towards blaming the victim, and the lack of support for victims and their families. It raises so many crucial questions and reveals what the victims of sexual assault must navigate in the aftermath.
I highly recommend tandem reading along to the audio for a more immersive experience. Chanel reads the book herself and you can hear the emotion in her voice and feel her pain in every word.
This is one I will be thinking about for quite some time. It is a necessary read that will spark conversation. Chanel's words have already changed our world, and Know My Name will be a defining piece of literature of our generation.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Every human!
• lovers of memoirs
• sexual assault survivor
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"This is an attempt to transform the hurt inside myself, to confront a past, and find a way to live with and incorporate these memories. I want to leave them behind so I can move forward. In not naming them, I finally name myself."
"I pulled out my small red notebook. I illuminated the pages with my phone, and wrote, 'I feel like I've already won'. It was a small nod to myself; I had done the impossible, showed up. Those who watched me cry on the stand might have perceived me as fragile, but I believed it to be the quiet beginning of my strength. I did what I'd never thought I could do, had somehow been spit out on the other side, still far from the finish line, but alive."
"But I had yet to understand the system. If you pay enough money, if you say the right things, if you take enough time to weaken and dilute the truth, the sun could slowly begin to look like an egg."
"Everything I need to get through this, I already have. Everything I need to know, I already know. Everything I need to be, I already am."
"The friendly guy who helps you moved and assists senior citizens in the pool is the same guy who assaulted me. One person can be capable of both. Society often fails to wraps its head around the fact there these truths often coexist, they are not mutually exclusive. Bad qualities can hide inside a good person. That's the terrifying part."
"When a victim does go for help, she is seen as attacking the assailant. These are separate seeking aid is her primary motive, his fallout is a secondary effect. But we are taught, if you speak, something bad happens to him. You will be blamed for every job he doesn't get, every game he doesn't play. His family, friends, community, team, will unleash hell on you, are you sure you want that? We forever her to think hard about what this will mean for his life, even though her never considered what his actions would do to her."
"There have been numerous times I have not brought up my case because I do not want to upset anybody or spoil the mood. Because I want to preserve your comfort. Because I have been told that what I have to say is too dark, too upsetting, too targeting, too triggering, let's tone it down. You will find society asking you for the happy ending, saying come back when you're better, when what you have to say can make us feel good, when you have something more uplifting, affirming. This ugliness was something I never asked for, it was dropped on me, and for a long time I worried it made me ugly too. It made me into a sad, unwelcome story that nobody wanted to hear.
But when I wrote the ugly and painful parts into a statement, an incredible thing happened. The world did not plug up its ears, it opened itself to me. I do not write to trigger victims. I write to comfort them, and I've found that victims identify more with pain than platitudes."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol, Racism, and Suicide attempt
1moodreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
There are ugly realities we shy away from. Some truths are too hard to bear, process, think about, solve, talk about, and write about. The only way we can cope is by ignoring reality. When we do this, we hurt ourselves and others. Sometimes, we need to do more. We need to be better. This book was like a dive headfirst into a pool in the middle of winter. I knew what this book was going to be about and supported her even as Emily Doe. It is still hard to process that everyday people are sexually abused, hurt, defiled, broken. I hate that this is even a thing; I hate that it's normalized. I hate that victims can't feel safe confronting their attacker. This hate turns into anger and then into sadness, which is when we start distracting ourselves. Because this anger, this hate, can eat us up and leave us as a smoking shell of a person. It took me 18 days to finish this book, and I am glad that I did. For anyone in a similar place as Chanel/Emily, I want to know how to help and comfort and support. Victims, survivors are never alone, even when they feel like it. I and so many others want to be there for them. This book has to be a must-read for everyone, especially for anyone involved in the legal system.
Chanel Miller's story deserves to be heard and is one of the most honest and truthful accounts of sexual assault survivors' journey in and out of the courtroom. It took me 18 days to finish because I would become depressed, shaken, angry, upset at everything she was going through. She writes in a way that makes me feel her pain; every attack and question goes straight to my core. Read this book; you'll learn so much.
Look at trigger warnings.
Chanel Miller's story deserves to be heard and is one of the most honest and truthful accounts of sexual assault survivors' journey in and out of the courtroom. It took me 18 days to finish because I would become depressed, shaken, angry, upset at everything she was going through. She writes in a way that makes me feel her pain; every attack and question goes straight to my core. Read this book; you'll learn so much.
Look at trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt