Know My Name Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

In January of 2015, Chanel Miller woke up in a room next to a police officer. Her last memories were of attending a college party with her sister. She was told she had been sexually assaulted. Later, her experience became public knowledge when the media picked up a story about Brock Turner, and she realized that he was her rapist. From learning about her own rape from the media to enduring the gut-wrenching trial process and dealing with the repercussions of becoming a household name, read on to learn about the strength and determination of Chanel: and how she survived the unimaginable repercussions of her assault at the hand of Brock Turner.

About the Author

Chanel Miller is an American writer based in San Francisco, CA. She became known when she was sexually assaulted on the campus of Stanford University.

Her victim impact statement became viral and was published on Buzzfeed. In court documents, she was referred to as Emily Doe until 2019, when she published her memoir. Her efforts have encouraged a national discussion in the USA about the treatment of sexual assault cases and victims by college campuses and court systems.

She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara at the College of Creative Studies, where she graduated with a degree in literature in 2014.

On the evening of 2015, she accompanied her sister to Kappa Alpha fraternity party at Stanford University. Two Stanford graduate students found her being raped by Brock Turner. She was unconscious and drunk. The two men who found her pulled her away from Brock Turner. He was arrested and indicted on five sexual assault charges. He pleaded not guilty. In 2016, he was sentenced to six months in prison.

Miller wrote a victim impact statement which was published on Buzzfeed. The New York Times republished the statement. She was later interviewed on 60 minutes and published a memoir, Know My Name, The book is one of the top ten books of 2019 by the Washington Post. It is on the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019.

Her story sparked a national discussion about rape on college campuses. In 2016, Glamour named her woman of the year for changing the conversation about sexual assault. Her impact statement has been read over 11 million times. Time listed her as an influential person in their 100 Next List.

Topics

Biography & Memoir

Know My Name Book Summary Preview

In January of 2015, Chanel Miller woke up in a room next to a police officer. Her last memories were of attending a college party with her sister. When she asked the police officer what had happened, he was evasive. Finally, he told her that she had been found outside of the party by other college students: they were bicycling around campus when they discovered her and a man who was on top of her. They said it looked wrong". The policeman reported to her that the witnesses were very upset by what they had seen. Chanel was then administered a rape kit and sent on her way. It wasn’t until months later when Chanel was sitting at work, that she received a text message from her sister that would bring clarity about what had happened to her. Her sister told her that the man who had sexually assaulted her was on the news. She went online and saw the face of Brock Turner, who was being charged with her rape and assault. She read the news article and learned for the first time many details about her assault, and about Brock, her rapist. From learning about her own rape from the media to enduring the gut-wrenching trial process and dealing with the repercussions of becoming a household name, read on to learn about the strength and determination of Chanel: and how she survived the unimaginable repercussions of her assault at the hands of Brock Turner.

After reading the news article, Chanel learned the details of her assault for the first time. She learned that she was found outside of a fraternity house: half-naked and next to a dumpster. That Brock, who she learned was a Stanford student, had been caught sexually assaulting her by two Swedish students. One of which tackled him to the ground after he tried to escape and a random bystander called the police. She was horrified. She was more horrified to read the comments under the article. The larger number of comments weren’t condemning Brock or offering her support: the vast majority seemed to be on his side. As time wore on, and more articles came out, she watched herself become nameless, as she was referred to as the “victim”. The media became fixated on what she was drinking, with graphic details about what she was wearing when she was found. Brock, conversely, was humanized. Articles talked about how he was a Stanford student, and an Olympic swimmer. It seemed everyone who knew him had a positive review about him to share with the media, including their concerns about what a shame it was that he was being ostracized and punished.

When the police asked Chanel if she would like to press charges, she decided to do it. However, she wanted to protect everyone around her from the painful knowledge she had been raped: so she decided to lead a double life. Her boyfriend and family stayed in the dark about the rape, while her sister knew...