Know My Name by Chanel Miller

An astoundingly powerful memoir, yet filled with vulnerability and pain. Chanel Miller, also known as Emily Doe in court and the media, was just having a regular night out with her sister and friends when her life became permanently tied to a complete stranger, a predator, a privileged man who went on to be protected by the legal system and the media institution despite the monstrosity that he committed to Chanel. This memoir expands on her viral victim statement published soon after the sentencing hearing of her perpetrator, and recounts her full story, before and after the sexual assault, with a level of poise and emotional granularity that compellingly captured the essence of the survivor’s experience. Following the incident, anxiety and self-blame never quite left her as she went about with her life. She came under constant attacks from both the media and her predator’s supporters, who ruthlessly entertained the possibility that her story wasn’t genuine, her memory was flaky and unreliable, her suffering was made up, and worst of all, her pressing charge was unjustifiably vengeful and only intended to “ruin” the life of the perpetrator. I share her frustration, disgust, and rage at the people and institutions that hold more empathy for a self-admitted predator than for the victim, and it’s somewhat reassuring that her story has at least contributed to a shift in the conversation on sexual assaults and how laws are to deal with them. This is a memoir held together by both pain and hope, one that immortalizes the continuous struggle of victims and their supporters to secure justice. As Chanel says it herself, repeatedly during and beyond her legal battle “Somehow the victim never wins” – and we are here to bear witness to how the system allows for that to happen. 5/5