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.
Know My Name
will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault,
challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth
to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to
an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our
world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand
as a modern classic.