WHY YOU SHOULD READ ‘KNOW MY NAME’

Marissa Parisi

We heard the story in the news when it first came out in 2016: a man named Brock Turner was accused and convicted of raping an unidentified woman in California but was only sentenced to six months in jail. The story sparked outrage across the nation.

Since then, sexual assault and rape have gained national attention through the #MeToo movement and similar activism. The Brock Turner controversy remained important, but with time, it fell into obscurity.

That is until Chanel Miller released her new book, ‘Know My Name,’ just a few weeks ago. Over three years later, she is revealing her identity as the survivor of Turner’s assault and telling her side of the story for the first time.

The book opens with Miller introducing herself and recounting her experience of that night nearly to the minute. The details bring her to the forefront of the story. Before Miller came forward, Turner was the central point of the story: people talk about what he did, who he is and what punishment he should get. But Miller takes her story back very early in the book, describing what she experienced and the aftermath of it.

Reclaiming her story is important. The narrative around cases of sexual assault and rape often do not include the indepth experiences Miller describes. Everything from the fun she had getting ready to go out with her sister to the leaves in her hair when she woke up in the hospital gives us a new understanding of what this experience is like.

She also uses her experience to critique the different players in the case– from the legal system to the media. Describing herself as a “pair of eyes” into what dealing with all of these elements was like, Miller gives an inside view of how these institutions contributed to her experience.

She holds the media accountable for the common view of her as a nobody or a liar. In the book, she reveals her shock about how broken the legal system is when dealing with sexual assault and rape cases. One of the most emotional aspects of the book is when she addresses Brock Turner directly. She deliberately does not focus on him, as this is her own story, but she brings him up by name a few times. One of these moments is when she is describing the trial. She points out how he blamed her for the situation, making her feel like he was taking advantage of her all over again. Her bravery is astounding in these parts and I was greatly impacted by this inclusion.

In the end, Miller calls on sexual assault and rape survivors everywhere. She wants them to know that, although her story sounds hard, she needed to let it out in order to heal. She advises others to talk about their experiences too. She adds a statement directed towards men to recognize and speak out when they notice things like this happening.

The memoir specifically impacts the feminist and the #MeToo movement. It provides an inside look at this experience that survivors’ allies do not usually get to hear about. Although Miller’s story is not the same as everyone else’s, being able to read and understand her background could spark a more educated conversation around these movements. People will understand that Turner’s six months in jail is not the injustice to be focusing on, but the effects on Miller that she will always live with are.

‘Know My Name’ is a must-read for anyone. Whether you’re interested in hearing Miller’s story, learning about the issue of sexual assault or need advice for coping with a similar situation, this book provides an emotional, eyeopening look into the issue of sexual assault and rape.

Yueyao Joyce Zhou