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A review by slightlyliterary
Know My Name: The Survivor of the Stanford Sexual Assault Case Tells Her Story by Chanel Miller
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This is a book everyone should read.
Chanel's writing is powerful and raw and hard-hitting, so much so that I felt such a wide spectrum of emotions while reading her story. She delves into the intricacies and injustices of the American legal system while breaking down the difficulties she went through in the aftermath of what happened that night. Evidently, it's a heavy read, and you will deeply feel the unfairness of the world—that Chanel had to go through hoops and overwhelming scrutiny in order to bring her rapist to justice (the justice itself as well as the time it took to get this far is infuriating), that she continues to hurt regardless of time and healing, that her loved ones are not left unscathed from it.
Know My Name is a crucial read in that it breaks down the double standards, eloquently points out everything wrong with the system and how society perceives the victims of rape. It is a crucial read as a book of solidarity for those who have gone through these experiences. We have made progress, but there's still have a long way to go before we can effectively and sensitively support these people who are more than what society has labelled them as.
Ending off this review with this long paragraph that reflects much of what has been mentioned above.
"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 you 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 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 [...] 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. When I write about weakness, about how I am barely getting through this, my hope is that they feel better, because it aligns with the truth they are living [...] I write to stand beside them in their suffering. I write because the most healing words I have been given are It's okay to not be okay. It's okay to fall apart, because that's what happens when you are broken, but I want victims to know they will not be left there, that we will be alongside them as they rebuild."
Chanel's writing is powerful and raw and hard-hitting, so much so that I felt such a wide spectrum of emotions while reading her story. She delves into the intricacies and injustices of the American legal system while breaking down the difficulties she went through in the aftermath of what happened that night. Evidently, it's a heavy read, and you will deeply feel the unfairness of the world—that Chanel had to go through hoops and overwhelming scrutiny in order to bring her rapist to justice (the justice itself as well as the time it took to get this far is infuriating), that she continues to hurt regardless of time and healing, that her loved ones are not left unscathed from it.
Know My Name is a crucial read in that it breaks down the double standards, eloquently points out everything wrong with the system and how society perceives the victims of rape. It is a crucial read as a book of solidarity for those who have gone through these experiences. We have made progress, but there's still have a long way to go before we can effectively and sensitively support these people who are more than what society has labelled them as.
Ending off this review with this long paragraph that reflects much of what has been mentioned above.
"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 you 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 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 [...] 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. When I write about weakness, about how I am barely getting through this, my hope is that they feel better, because it aligns with the truth they are living [...] I write to stand beside them in their suffering. I write because the most healing words I have been given are It's okay to not be okay. It's okay to fall apart, because that's what happens when you are broken, but I want victims to know they will not be left there, that we will be alongside them as they rebuild."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape