Know My Name: A Memoir

Miller prepares for the hearing scheduled to begin in three weeks. She has been living in Philadelphia with Lucas for one month. As she awaits a call with Alaleh, she erupts in anger at Lucas. In her rage, she “slam[s] [her] phone onto the counter” and shatters the screen (98). After the incident, she agrees to begin therapy. After telling her story to her new therapist, she feels “lighter, like [she’d]’d left some of the weight up in the building, which made it easier to walk in the streets” (100-101). Through therapy, Miller begins to realize how much she internalized the judgmental comments she read about herself and gave “the opinions of online strangers equal weight to actual people” (101).

Alaleh notifies Miller that the hearing has been delayed once again. She informs her sister Tiffany and feels guilty for disrupting her sister’s life. The night before she is scheduled to return for the hearing, Miller learns that the hearing is again delayed. Miller decides to return home anyway. Once she arrives, Miller tours the courtroom and prepares to testify. Nervous, Miller remembers her time in a Spoken Word college course where she performed a piece inspired by the sexual assault of her friend.