Michelle Mock

“There is a certain carefree feeling that was stripped from me the night of the assault. How to distinguish spontaneity from recklessness? How to prove nudity is not synonymous with promiscuity? Where’s the line between caution and paranoia? This is what I’m mourning, this is what I do not know how to get back.”
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name: A Memoir

“When society questions a victim's reluctance to report, I will be here to remind you that you ask us to sacrifice our sanity to fight outdated structures that were designed to keep us down...The real question we need to be asking is not, Why didn't she report, the question is, Why would you?”
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name

“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name: A Memoir

“There have been numerous times I have not brought up my case because I do not want to upset anybody or spoil the mood. Because I want to preserve your comfort...You will find society asking you for the happy ending, saying come back when you're better, when what you say can make us feel good, when you have something more uplifting, affirming.

...I've found that victims identify more with pain than platitudes. When I write about weakness, about how I am barely getting through this, my hope is that they feel better, because it aligns with the truth they are living...I write because the most healing words I have been given are It's okay not to be okay...”
― Chanel Miller, Know My Name