Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Know My Name

Author:  Chanel Miller

One-sentence summary:  A woman tells her story of being raped while unconscious and how that event and the following trial impacted her life. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating:  9 

Our favorite thing about it:  Such a great message and important point of view. 

Our least favorite thing about it:  Some of the writing style was hard to read and understand. 

Main Topics of Discussion:  Rape, Victimhood, Legal System, Patriarchy, Justice, Trauma, Family, Sexuality 

Our favorite quote:In fact I need you to know it was all true. The friendly guy who helps you move and assists senior citizens in the pool is the same guy who assaulted me. One person can be capable of both. Society often fails to wrap its head around the fact that these truths often coexist, they are not mutually exclusive. Bad qualities can hide inside a good person. That's the terrifying part. 

Notes:   We universally liked this book. It was hard material, but what Chanel says is so important and poignant. We are so glad she has this opportunity to tell her story – through the trial and beyond. It’s hard to say we “enjoyed” this book because of the subject matter, but we were mentally high fiving her when she made excellent point after excellent point about rape and victims and justice. It was all so good. In fact, it’s basically impossible to pick just ONE quote that we loved – there are so many. Here are some of the things we discussed: 

  1. There was lots of detail to her story. Sometimes it felt like too much and unnecessary. However, we recognize this is HER story and these details are very central and important to her.
  2. Some of the writing style was distracting at times – staccato sentences, run ons, etc. Again, we understand that these were used to show her confusion and emotion at any given time. We understand the literary purpose, but they were still hard to read.
  3. The insight into the victim’s point of view of the whole legal process – especially the trial – was fascinating and infuriating. We’re so glad she chronicled it here.
  4. It was telling how this trauma affected her whole life – so many aspects you wouldn’t think about unless you had gone through it. We learned so much.
  5. This should be required reading for everyone. 

Memorable Meeting Moments:  We at at the Biscuit Bar and then went back to Rachel’s house for dessert and discussion. This was Amberly’s birthday month. 

What We Ate:  We all ordered various biscuit sandwiches, some very yummy cocktails, and we all shared several types of tots. It was all so good!









No comments: