Until a few weeks ago, Chanel Miller was known to the public as Emily Doe. A sexual assault survivor—whose powerful impact statement addressed to her assailant, Brock Turner, went viral—Miller chose not to speak out under her own name but instead to let her words stand on their own. That decision, Miller told the New York Times, “let me have a life in which this never happened,” giving her time to still be Chanel and not “the nameless, faceless, half-naked body from this case.”
But earlier this month, the former 2016 Glamour Woman of the Year (then still known as Emily Doe) came forward and announced the release of her memoir, Know My Name. The memoir focuses not just on the trial or its immediate aftermath, but on her life before and since as she’s worked to figure out where she goes from here. With Know My Name now available in bookstores nationwide, Miller has released a short companion film about her experience as a survivor that she wrote and codirected.
Chanel Miller finishing up an illustration in 2017
Courtesy of Chanel Miller“I Am With You” is a five-minute film in four acts, with animation created from Miller’s original illustrations. It’s both an exploration of Miller’s journey to reclaim her voice and a moving love letter to the strength and power of survivors everywhere. “While writing Know My Name, I was constantly drawing as a way of letting my mind breathe, reminding myself that life is playful and imaginative. We all deserve a chance to define ourselves, shape our identities, and tell our stories,” Miller said in a statement. “The film crew that worked on this piece was almost all women. Feeling their support and creating together was immensely healing. We should all be creating space for survivors to speak their truths and express themselves freely. When society nourishes instead of blames, books are written, art is made, and the world is a little better for it.”
You can watch Miller’s beautiful tribute to her healing process in its entirety, below.
