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A review by zaira_frank_2108
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
5.0
“My pain was never more valuable than his potential.”
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name
This was a tough but beautiful read. I would encourage my kids to read this book when they are turning into young adults. In January 2015, 2 Stanford University graduate students biking across campus spotted a freshman thrusting his body on top of an unconscious, half-naked woman behind a dumpster. More than a year later, the freshman, Brock Allen Turner was found guilty to 3 counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 6 months, instead of the recommended 6 years, in county jail and probation. He has since served 3 months in jail, and has completed 3 years of probation and is forced to permanently register as a sexual offender. He now has an entry-level job at a tech company doing some quality control role and people he works with describe him as quiet and polite, keeping his head down, doing his job, no problem. The victim, Chanel Miller, in the meantime, published a victim statement of the lenient sentencing that was given to Turner and a year later, started writing this memoir which was published in September 2019.
What happened with Chanel could happen to any girl. Even with strong evidence, society/media portrayed the problem to be with the victim or the alcohol. 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.
I think teenage years are hard on us all. I have my share of stories to share, a possible memoir to write. I was told of the dangers of drinking alcohol outside, especially at parties, socializing with boys, I was no strange to being cat-called on the street and I knew to ignore, not make eye contact, and walk faster, I knew to dress modestly so as not to attract attention. Attracting attention was my fault. It was my society that dictated my behavior, that shaped my world.
When I found out I was pregnant with a girl, my initial reaction was one of sadness and fear, not for me but for her, for the “trauma” she will have to face at some point in life, and the silent acceptance of unspoken rules that society would bind her behavior to. That was 2016 and since then a lot of change in the world, and in my world everything has changed for the better.
Looking back, I can sum it down to a combination of a couple of things: exposing and educating myself to more of the world, reading and listening to the lives of others, finding my own voice, and using it, setting healthy and loving boundaries, accepting myself unconditionally, and most importantly – forgiving. I hope both my girls learn from not just my limited experiences but from reading books like these that will show them ways to find that courage that is required to move through any suffering and live a full and beautiful life.
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name
This was a tough but beautiful read. I would encourage my kids to read this book when they are turning into young adults. In January 2015, 2 Stanford University graduate students biking across campus spotted a freshman thrusting his body on top of an unconscious, half-naked woman behind a dumpster. More than a year later, the freshman, Brock Allen Turner was found guilty to 3 counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 6 months, instead of the recommended 6 years, in county jail and probation. He has since served 3 months in jail, and has completed 3 years of probation and is forced to permanently register as a sexual offender. He now has an entry-level job at a tech company doing some quality control role and people he works with describe him as quiet and polite, keeping his head down, doing his job, no problem. The victim, Chanel Miller, in the meantime, published a victim statement of the lenient sentencing that was given to Turner and a year later, started writing this memoir which was published in September 2019.
What happened with Chanel could happen to any girl. Even with strong evidence, society/media portrayed the problem to be with the victim or the alcohol. 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.
I think teenage years are hard on us all. I have my share of stories to share, a possible memoir to write. I was told of the dangers of drinking alcohol outside, especially at parties, socializing with boys, I was no strange to being cat-called on the street and I knew to ignore, not make eye contact, and walk faster, I knew to dress modestly so as not to attract attention. Attracting attention was my fault. It was my society that dictated my behavior, that shaped my world.
When I found out I was pregnant with a girl, my initial reaction was one of sadness and fear, not for me but for her, for the “trauma” she will have to face at some point in life, and the silent acceptance of unspoken rules that society would bind her behavior to. That was 2016 and since then a lot of change in the world, and in my world everything has changed for the better.
Looking back, I can sum it down to a combination of a couple of things: exposing and educating myself to more of the world, reading and listening to the lives of others, finding my own voice, and using it, setting healthy and loving boundaries, accepting myself unconditionally, and most importantly – forgiving. I hope both my girls learn from not just my limited experiences but from reading books like these that will show them ways to find that courage that is required to move through any suffering and live a full and beautiful life.