alyssarebman's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
adeaso2's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
lajenn's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
jkg13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
espiri_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I echo the sentiments of everyone who has read this. This is REQUIRED READING.
A lot of us remember the Brock Turner case, his ridiculous sentence, and the empowering letter from Emily Doe soon after the sentencing. This happened less than 5 years ago. Chanel Miller takes you on her multilayered journey as an assault survivor revealing so much about the survivor process that many of us in the public do not know, even people who always believe and support survivors. Thank you, Chanel Miller, for sharing your story.
Miller is open and vulnerable about her healing process. She shares the depths of her emotions and the moments of triumph and joy, neither of which are linear or finite. A large part of why she writes her story in this way is because she wants other survivors to know someone understands them and sees them.
The reader also follows along the legal process of a survivor pressing assault charges against their perpetrator. When more people read this, they will never again question why a survivor waits to press charges or does not tell someone immediately or chooses their healing journey over a trip through the judicial system. It is an isolating, infuriating, re-traumatizing process that forces you to put your life on hold for years.
It is clear how much institutions fail to support survivors and make changes to protect people from experiencing assault in the future. Educators, we need to do better about addressing patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Legal system, you need to do SO MUCH BETTER! And Stanford University, screw you! You will never get my money.
There are so many things I appreciate about the way Chanel Miller shared this story:
- The empowerment she found in small moments, like when she tells herself, "Fuck the fried rice!" Who cares if she ate quinoa or fried rice that night? She did not deserve this.
- I love that despite how traumatizing it is to be a survivor going through the judicial system, she acknowledges that other survivors do not always have the same privileges she does that gave her the space to press charges or to amplify her voice.
- Miller connects so many dots for the reader on the myriad of ways women experience violence and survivors get re-traumatized. In Miller's personal life, she experienced the UCSB mass shooting of young women, her own assault, street harassment, and watching Christine Blasey Ford of Stanford University share her testimony against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh's attempted assault only to be easily dismissed.
This story is important and necessary. Please read it and share it with your family and friends. I want to see more men read this and I want to see anyone who upholds patriarchy and toxic masculinity to read this.
"I did not come into existence when he harmed me. She found her voice! I had a voice, he stripped it, left me groping around blind for a bit, but I always had it."
A lot of us remember the Brock Turner case, his ridiculous sentence, and the empowering letter from Emily Doe soon after the sentencing. This happened less than 5 years ago. Chanel Miller takes you on her multilayered journey as an assault survivor revealing so much about the survivor process that many of us in the public do not know, even people who always believe and support survivors. Thank you, Chanel Miller, for sharing your story.
Miller is open and vulnerable about her healing process. She shares the depths of her emotions and the moments of triumph and joy, neither of which are linear or finite. A large part of why she writes her story in this way is because she wants other survivors to know someone understands them and sees them.
The reader also follows along the legal process of a survivor pressing assault charges against their perpetrator. When more people read this, they will never again question why a survivor waits to press charges or does not tell someone immediately or chooses their healing journey over a trip through the judicial system. It is an isolating, infuriating, re-traumatizing process that forces you to put your life on hold for years.
It is clear how much institutions fail to support survivors and make changes to protect people from experiencing assault in the future. Educators, we need to do better about addressing patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Legal system, you need to do SO MUCH BETTER! And Stanford University, screw you! You will never get my money.
There are so many things I appreciate about the way Chanel Miller shared this story:
- The empowerment she found in small moments, like when she tells herself, "Fuck the fried rice!" Who cares if she ate quinoa or fried rice that night? She did not deserve this.
- I love that despite how traumatizing it is to be a survivor going through the judicial system, she acknowledges that other survivors do not always have the same privileges she does that gave her the space to press charges or to amplify her voice.
- Miller connects so many dots for the reader on the myriad of ways women experience violence and survivors get re-traumatized. In Miller's personal life, she experienced the UCSB mass shooting of young women, her own assault, street harassment, and watching Christine Blasey Ford of Stanford University share her testimony against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh's attempted assault only to be easily dismissed.
This story is important and necessary. Please read it and share it with your family and friends. I want to see more men read this and I want to see anyone who upholds patriarchy and toxic masculinity to read this.
"I did not come into existence when he harmed me. She found her voice! I had a voice, he stripped it, left me groping around blind for a bit, but I always had it."