The riveting, powerful memoir of the woman whose letter to Brock Turner gave voice to millions of survivors.
She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on Buzzfeed, where it instantly went viral - viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.
Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways - there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts 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.
Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humour, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.
About the Author
Chanel Miller is a writer and artist who received her BA in Literature from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She lives in San Francisco, California.
Industry Reviews
Powerful, honest and necessary -- Marian Keyes
A beautifully written, powerful, important story. It marks the debut of a gifted young writer. * New York Times *
Extraordinary woman turning pain into power. Chanel Miller, it's a privilege to know your name, and to celebrate it -- Thandie Newton
You are a brave soul. You are more than the identity given to you by the media and those in power -- Monica Lewinsky
A searing, beautiful book * Sunday Times *
In a world that asks too many survivors to keep their experiences to themselves and shrink their suffering to preserve someone else's potential, Know My Name stands unapologetically large, asking others to reckon with its author's dazzling, undiminishable presence. To read it, in spite of everything, inspires hope. * Guardian *
I can't wait to read it -- Dolly Alderton
In its rare honesty and its small details, KNOW MY NAME is both an open wound and a salve, a quiet cry and the loudest scream...[it] is more than an indictment, though it is a successful and moving one. It is also an outstretched hand, inviting you to fight alongside her * Elle *
A skilled writer... Miller tells [her story] beautifully, caring enough for her reader to spin golden sentences from her pain * Vogue *
I read this book cover to cover and it stunned me: Chanel Miller is such a lushly talented writer -- Jia Tolentino, bestselling author of Trick Mirror
