Author: Chanel Miller
# of Pages: 15 hours, 20 minutes (audiobook)
Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral–viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time. Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways–there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.
Review: Oh jeez, this hits hard.
Going into this, I imagined that I would give this book 4 stars. I played with this idea until about halfway through the book, when I realized I HAD to give it 5 stars. It's been a long time since I've been moved to tears (SEVERAL times) just from listening to a story.
I remember when this happened, the articles covering the sexual assault came flooding out, when Chanel Miller was still Emily Doe. I was shocked and upset by the short term of Brock's sentences like many others, and while my heart went out to Emily Doe, I did not cry over the mysterious victim in this viral case.
After hearing Miller''s perspective through this book, I was able to feel and better understand the pain and struggles that she (and undoubtably many other sexual assault victims) endured and continue to endure today. It is so easy to be detached from these types of things if they do not happen to you, to overlook injustices that occur in a system too big to be changed by one person. It is important for EVERYONE to read this book, even if you believe you already understand what she went through, even if you don't think it is relevant to you.
Miller was even "lucky" to have such a high profile case; although Brock didn't get the sentencing he deserved, the public's support of Miller at least partially helps right the wrongs done to her in the handling and result of the court case. I can't even begin to think of how many other sexual assault/rape victims suffer from possibly even greater injustices.
I had my apprehension about reading this book. Sometimes autobiographies have agendas that I don't want to be involved in (many politicians try to push their political agendas in their autobiographies rather than focusing on their experiences). While Miller does use her voice to highlight important failures in the system (e.g. determining Brock's sentence, Stanford failing to follow through with what they agreed to do in the aftermath of the sexual assault), the story stays on track by revealing these failures through her eyes, her experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Miller has done a great job with telling her story. Although this is a tough topic to hear about, I would still recommend this book to everyone. I would HIGHLY recommend listening to the audiobook, since it is read by Chanel Miller herself; her narrative is much more raw and real by listening to her story than how I would imagine it would be if I had read her book instead.
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