Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller was published in 2019. A few years prior,
Miller was assaulted by a man named Brock Turner. The assault made national headlines and
Brock Turner became a household name. People knew his name and his story, but not hers. Four
years after the assault, Miller decided to release her memoir.
The introduction begins with her sharing her name openly for the first time. Miller then
briefly discusses her personality and her background. She is shy and empathetic, 22 years old, a
recent graduate from the University of California, and working at an educational start-up. She
then goes on to discuss the events of January 2015. On that day, Miller joined her sister at a
fraternity party at Stanford University. While at the party, she got increasingly intoxicated and
blacked out. Miller woke up in the hospital surrounded by police officers and a Stanford dean
who informed her that she may have been the victim of sexual assault. She was escorted to a rape
clinic to be examined, even though she struggled to recall the events of the previous night. Miller
then learned that two students witnessed her being sexually assaulted, interrupted the assault, and
apprehended the man. Although still confused and foggy, Miller agreed to press charges. She
does not learn her assailant's name or details of her assault until she reads about it in the paper.
Turner was eventually charged with three counts of felony assault. During the time in which
Turner was charged, Miller applied and was accepted into the University of Rhode Island School
of Design.
While in Rhode Island, Miller struggled immensely with the negative comments written
about her online and she began attending therapy. She returned to California for the hearing and
during her testimony she experienced an emotional breakdown on the stand. Shortly after she fell
into a depression. In the memoir Miller talks about how she tried to work through the experience and the aftermath that followed. She also provides information about the trial and states that
although the defense repeatedly called her character into question, the jury reached a verdict
within two days, finding Turner guilty on all three counts. Miller returned to Philadelphia in the
months leading up to the sentencing and wrote an astounding 28-page victim statement to read at
the sentencing. Despite her efforts, Turner was sentenced to only six months in county jail, and
with good behavior, he would be released in as little as three months. Miller, distraught over the
light sentence, decided to release her victim impact statement on BuzzFeed and it quickly went
viral. Although she still does not release her name, millions of people read her victim’s statement
and she began to receive overwhelming support from people who were inspired by her words
and from other survivors of sexual assault who said they connected with her statement.
Throughout her memoir, Miller discusses the pain that she endured and her journey
toward healing. At the end of the story, Miller says, “Victims exist in a society that tells us our
purpose is to be an inspiring story. But sometimes the best we can do is tell you we’re still here,
and that should be enough. Denying darkness does not bring anyone closer to the light.” She also
reflects on writing her memoir, stating that in order to experience healing, she needed to confront
her negative and overwhelming emotions. Miller describes how she felt when she woke up in the
hospital, her panic attacks and emotional outbursts in private and in the courtroom, and her
journey to heal and recover in such an insightful, powerful, and influential way.
Miller’s story is not an uncommon one and older adolescents would benefit from reading
her memoir. Students can make strong gender based connections and personal connections to her
story. Students may have experienced similar situations or know someone else who has been
assaulted at a highschool or college party. I think that this memoir will make all students more
aware of the culture surrounding sexual assault and it can help raise awareness of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses, which is a huge problem. The topic of consent is also something
that all students need to learn about and understand. This memoir also educates students on how
the justice system works in these situations, what changes need to be made, and what societal
