Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - 知晓我姓名

“I encourage you to sit in that garden [at Stanford] but when you do, close your eyes, and I’ll tell you about the real garden, the sacred place. Ninety feet away from where you sit there is a spot where Brock Turner’s knees hit the dirt, where the Swedes tacked him to the ground, yelling ‘What the f*** are you doing? Do you think this is okay?’ Put their words on a plaque. Mark that spot, because in my mind I’ve erected a monument. The place to be remembered is not where I was assaulted, but where he fell, where I was saved, where two men declared stop, no more, not here, not now, not ever.”

“This book does not have a happy ending. The happy part is there is no ending, because I’ll always keep finding a way to keep going.”

I had to set this book down many times because of all the intense emotions it made me feel. I felt so angry over how the justice system fails victims, how Stanford failed Chanel and then tried to patch it up by creating a garden where she was raped, the emotional weight her, her family and friends endured all throughout the trial and to this day.

This was a very hard book to read but too often as a society, we smooth over the cracks in our facade and look away from the pain, only wanting to see this idealistic and perfect thing. We ignore the bad, rewarding the society-accepted “good”. Chanel didn’t have the option to ignore the bad that was thrust onto her, she experienced society’s bad at full capacity. Seeing her shine a light on it, pulling back the curtain of what she went through to expose the cracks in our legal system, colleges and media, it was a much needed reality check.

Thank you, Chanel, for writing this book. Thank you for sharing your story with us all and continuing to fight.

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1moodreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

There are ugly realities we shy away from. Some truths are too hard to bear, process, think about, solve, talk about, and write about. The only way we can cope is by ignoring reality. When we do this, we hurt ourselves and others. Sometimes, we need to do more. We need to be better. This book was like a dive headfirst into a pool in the middle of winter. I knew what this book was going to be about and supported her even as Emily Doe. It is still hard to process that everyday people are sexually abused, hurt, defiled, broken. I hate that this is even a thing; I hate that it's normalized. I hate that victims can't feel safe confronting their attacker. This hate turns into anger and then into sadness, which is when we start distracting ourselves. Because this anger, this hate, can eat us up and leave us as a smoking shell of a person. It took me 18 days to finish this book, and I am glad that I did. For anyone in a similar place as Chanel/Emily, I want to know how to help and comfort and support. Victims, survivors are never alone, even when they feel like it. I and so many others want to be there for them. This book has to be a must-read for everyone, especially for anyone involved in the legal system.

Chanel Miller's story deserves to be heard and is one of the most honest and truthful accounts of sexual assault survivors' journey in and out of the courtroom. It took me 18 days to finish because I would become depressed, shaken, angry, upset at everything she was going through. She writes in a way that makes me feel her pain; every attack and question goes straight to my core. Read this book; you'll learn so much.

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heeyitsamy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Beautiful, well written, hard to read at times, but so so important.

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prakriti_archit's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I knew the story that I was about to step into, but I never anticipated how beautifully it would be written. Chanel's writing is transcendental, crossing from page to reader like butter and cutting through time, age, gender, and racial divides to deliver one undeniable truth. Her truth. Her use of metaphors is brilliantly done, her description are vivid, and her ability to emulate emotions is immaculate. I am so honoured to have had the privilege to read this book.

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purrfectly's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.75

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jerusha's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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