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Know My Name

Chanel Miller

Start date: November 2, 2019

Finish date: November 30, 2019

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: November Bonus Read- International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Know My Name by Chane…more
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Know My Name by Chanel Miller

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What Members Thought

Jun 08, 2023 Jaclyn~she lives! catching up on reviews~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: theme-mental-ilness, characters-writers, theme-racism, authors-american, country-usa, genre-memoir, states-california, trigger-warning-sexual-assault, theme-violence, theme-writing

If you don't want or don't have time to read this memoir, please go read her victim impact statement!

With this memoir Chanel Miller is able to take back her name and reclaim her power. She transcends her trauma.

This memoir is brave, it is painful, it is unfortunately relatable for many people.

And that is why it is important.

Chanel's story isn't an anomaly. She is one of many. Brock is just one predator in a sea of others. He isn't special. Chanel is special in that her voice and her ability to ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2021 Jeanne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2021, memoir-biography, feminism, trauma, read-women, politics, forensic, asia-asia-american

Chanel Miller was raped behind a dumpster of a Stanford University fraternity house while blacked out – then was beaten up by the judicial system and the media. Her memoir should be read by all women and men, feminists and those who don't (yet) get it, parents of girls and parents of boys, people with a history of sexual trauma and those without, as well as those who are curious about the way that the court system operates for crime victims.

The fact that I spelled subpoena, suhpeena, may sugges Chanel Miller was raped behind a dumpster of a Stanford University fraternity house while blacked out – then was beaten up by the judicial system and the media. Her memoir should be read by all women and men, feminists and those who don't (yet) get it, parents of girls and parents of boys, people with a history of sexual trauma and those without, as well as those who are curious about the way that the court system operates for crime victims.

The fact that I spelled subpoena, suhpeena, may suggest I am not qualified to tell this story. But all court transcripts are at the world’s disposal, all news articles online. This is not the ultimate truth, but it is mine, told to the best of my ability. If you want it through my eyes and ears, to know what it felt like inside my chest, what it’s like to hide in the bathroom during trial, this is what I provide. (p. vii).

Know My Name should not be given to the faint of heart or the easily triggered – although sticking your head under a rock is a poor way of handling difficult problems.

Why am I so impressed by Know My Name? Miller's

* courage in telling her story: the good, the bad, and the ugly
* clear description of the criminal justice system's abuse – and support – of crime victims and their families: Did my dress explain his behavior? I entered the court system expecting it to be ordered, civil, constructive. Now I was learning whose voices were amplified inside the courtroom, whose were muted. (p. 273)
* willingness to see herself and others as more than good or bad: We all have different ways of coping, self-medicating, ways of surviving the rough patches. To deny my messiness would be to deny my humanity. I don’t believe there is such a thing as an immaculate past or a perfect victim. (pp. 66-67)
* nuanced analyses of the language that people unthinkingly use that further victimizes all involved
* clear naming of privilege and oppression (e.g., Turner spent six months in jail. How many (brown and black) people were given more time for victimless crimes?)
* recognition that the world is comprised of more than victims and perpetrators, but also people like the Swedes on bicycles, who intervened, supported her, and were both pained and outraged
* lovely writing (see the quotes above)

Given her treatment by the criminal (in)justice system and the media, it amazes me that Miller was such an articulate and thoughtful writer about her assault. She thoughtfully eviscerated the court system, media, Brock Turner, and our reactions to sexual assault victims, for all women, for all survivors, for all people. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2020 Kate rated it really liked it

4.5/5

This is an autobiography written by a woman who was raped at a frat party on Stanford’s campus. It is extremely well written and there are parts that have me shivers. It outlines her experience afterward, the process of charging her perpetrator, having to relive her experience (by having to retell it at court and through the trauma process), and the pathetic excuse of a sentence that is given to her perpetrator. There are parts of this book that all women can relate to.

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2020 Carol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mount-tbr-2020

Wow, should be required reading. Thank you Chanel for being brave enough to write this. Beautifully said.

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2019 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

I hope that Chanel Miller is reading all of these 5 star Goodreads reviews as obsessively as Emily Doe read news article comments about the case because THESE are the words she needs to see and believe about herself.

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Feb 15, 2020 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Blunt, bold and inspiring. It was a horrible experience that happened to give this writer a voice and this forum, but yet, how fortuitous. A must read, and probably a must read again.

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